Wilderlove
by Desyryn
Summary: Who is this familiar stranger? And why is he calling her his woman? !
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha, and I'm not making any money off of writing this. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and respective parties.

This story is rated M for a reason. Violence, language, citrus, etc will all be part of this story. If anything particularly graphic will occur in a chapter, I will be sure to disclaim it at the beginning.

That being said, this is my first fanfiction, and I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. My updates will be at random, but I will not abandon this story no matter how much time goes by. I also do not have a beta reader, so I apologize for any small grammar issues you may find. Also, please note that I have aged Kagome up to 17 since there will be a lot of lemons and citrus throughout.

Please enjoy (and review)!

* * *

 **Wilderlove**

Kagome Higurashi was your average high school girl, well – aside from her good looks and her strange family lineage. It's not often you see someone living in a shrine these days in the heart of Tokyo, especially someone who looks like _that_.

The boys in gym class all sat on the grass at the edge of the track, watching the girls do laps during their break. They dab at the sweat beading on their foreheads or run their hands through their hair, secretly shielding their faces from the girls' as they gaze at those feminine curves.

Kagome Higurashi. Age 17. Easily the most talked about girl in school.

Maybe it was the way her toned thighs brushed against each other with every lunge she took, or how her supple chest heaved as she gasped from shortness of breath. Or maybe it was the way her face flushed from exertion, moist lips and rosy cheeks filling the boys' every fantasy.

Whatever it was that Kagome had, it made her irresistible.

"Kagome!" Eri called to her friend, coming to a stop with a huff.

Ayumi was holding her side, a wince on her face as her muscles began to cramp. "Jeez Kagome, that must be a new record for you."

"Yeah, you gotta tell us your secret," Yuka panted.

Kagome rolled her weight to one leg, resting a hand on her hip. "You guys seemed to keep up just fine," she said. She could still feel her heart racing in her chest, ribs taught as she steadied her breath.

The three girls looked at each other and laughed in between wheezing gasps for air.

"You sure had us beat, Kagome," Eri argued.

"Yeah, seriously," Yuka scoffed.

"I dunno," Kagome supposed, trotting over to the bench that held their folded towels, "I just really enjoy it – running, I mean."

"Well, you're really good at it, too," Ayumi muttered. The girls agreed.

Kagome rubbed the back of her neck, rolling her head and shoulders to loosen the tense muscles. She lifted her arms above her head, savoring the feeling of her full-body stretch as she reached for the afternoon sky. Her lithe body glistened with sweat in the summer sun, as though that gentle dew of perspiration caught the shimmer of a rainbow – like a crystal or a stunning jewel. She basked in the warmth that the sun offered her, enjoying its embrace on her exposed skin despite the blood rushing through her veins.

"Oh look," Yuka pointed, "it's Hojo. I wonder what he wants?" She cast a sly look to Kagome, who was bent down in a limber stretch to her toes.

"Hiya girls!" Hojo called, waving a hand as he jogged to a stop in front of them. He flashed his customary grin, eyes twinkling just as much as his aura seemed to be.

"Hi, Hojo," Kagome said, craning her neck to give him a warm smile. She liked Hojo; he was a good guy, different from the rest. But…

 _'Oh, I don't know. It just doesn't seem right…'_ Kagome thought. He was nice, sure, but he just didn't get her heart racing. _'Not like running.'_

Hojo blushed. He tried his hardest not to look at Kagome's shapely rear as she arched her back to look at him, but it was hard to keep his eyes anywhere except on her.

Eri giggled, noticing where the supposedly 'nice guy' Hojo's gaze fell.

"So, Kagome…" he began nervously, "there's this new movie that came out. One of those romantic comedies, and uh… I've – I've heard it's really good. I'd like to go see it."

Kagome arched an eyebrow, her crystal blue eyes lit with mild confusion and a trace of amusement.

"Oh!" Hojo stuttered. "With you, I mean. I want to go with you."

Understanding dawned on Kagome. Hojo was trying to ask her out. She forced a smile to hide the grimace forming on her delicate lips.

Hojo took this as a good sign and continued. "I know girls like this sort of thing, right? Romantic comedies. I've heard it's great from my little sister! It's called Feudal Love; I think it's about a miko and a demon that fall in love. Sounds sort of grim to me for a romantic comedy, but who knows! It could be good, right?"

"Demon, huh?" Yuka thought aloud. "Must be one hunk of a demon to tempt a miko."

"Ew, Yuka, you're such a pervert!" Ayumi shouted, catching the attention of classmates around them.

Yuka shrugged. "I mean, it's true! Aren't mikos supposed to be pure and all that mumbo-jumbo? Demons are the exact opposite!"

"Yeah," Eri added, "When I think 'demon,' I think of a sexy as sin prince who wants to escort lovely maidens to hell in order to claim their soul."

They all looked at Eri, Hojo in particular feeling quite uncomfortable. He'd never understand girls' ways of thinking.

"What kind of fantasy romance novel did you steal that one from, Eri?" Yuka laughed. Eri smirked.

Kagome, meanwhile, had felt an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia cascade over her, sending her into a trance of strange déjà vu.

"It was probably one of those American movies Eri loves so much," Ayumi giggled.

Yuka grinned as Eri huffed to herself. Clasping her hands together in an over-exaggerated swoon, Yuka teased, "Let me guess: he was tall and tanned with blue eyes and blonde hair."

 _'Blue eyes…'_ Kagome thought. A topaz gaze flitted across her vision, sending her into a whirlwind of confusion. _'Those eyes… so intense…'_ She shivered.

Barely audible, Kagome whispered, "He had black hair."

"Uh, Kagome?" Yuka waved in front of her friend's face, noticing how spaced out Kagome looked.

Kagome blinked, snapping out of her daydream. She noticed everyone staring at her expectantly.

"Ah, sorry," Kagome apologized, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "I'm not feeling too good. I think I'm going to go to the nurse and head home early."

Hojo was at her side in an instant, babying her arm in his grasp as he motioned for her to start walking to the infirmary. "Oh, Kagome. I knew you pushed yourself too hard! Your face was so red, like a tomato! I'd never seen anything like it."

Kagome smirked, not liking the analogy. "Well, I'm haafu." She tugged her arm away from him, walking towards the doors that go inside.

"We told you it was a new record!" Eri called after Kagome. She was glad that the attention was off of her, but she watched her friend go with concern. Once she saw Kagome enter the school, she turned to Hojo. "Man, you really screwed up."

"Yeah, Hojo," Yuka added, crossing her arms, "big time. I haven't seen her that hot and bothered in ages. The last time she was this upset was when her kid brother hid all her shoes and she ended up late for a test."

"W- What did I do?" Hojo blinked owlishly.

Eri shrugged. "Try talking to her, and maybe she'll tell you."

The girls all knew it had to do with Kagome's deceased father, but they all knew better than to talk about it. Gossip girls though they were, they had some loyalty where their friends were concerned.

Hojo continued to stare at them questioningly, his eyebrows knit with deep concern.

Ayumi patted Hojo on the back sympathetically. "Good luck. She's really quite stubborn. Maybe you should get her a 'get well' gift to make her feel better."

Hojo nodded. He had no idea how it happened or what he did to offend Kagome thus, but he would go above and beyond to fix his blunder. Kagome was the girl of his dreams, after all; the moment he first laid eyes on her, a feeling of gratitude and devotion filled him so completely and so unexpectedly, that he found himself deeply in love with her… as if he always had been and always would be. For five hundred years.

"Yeah," Hojo said a little wistfully, "I think I'll go do that."

* * *

 **Updated: December 29, 2018**


	2. The Interloper

When Kagome reached the base of the stairs leading to the shrine, she placed a hand above her eyes and looked up at the sun. So many people lived under the same sky, feeling the same warmth upon their skin… yet Kagome felt alone. She lived in Tokyo, a city with a population of over thirteen million people, yet somehow, despite that… she felt like she didn't belong.

Sighing, she began her march up the steps, knowing nobody was home to greet her. Her mom was out grocery shopping, and her grandpa was assisting a shrine in the prefecture over. Sota, obviously, was at school.

 _'Well, he better be,'_ Kagome thought. She ignored the guilt tugging at her conscience.

Ok. Fine. She was a hypocrite.

 _'What he doesn't know won't hurt him,'_ Kagome justified.

She reached the top of the stairs, kicking a pebble to the side as she headed towards the front door. Her legs ached, feeling like jelly that was slowly melting under the afternoon sun. Maybe she would take a nap; after gym class and that long walk home in the midday heat, Kagome sure was tired. Air conditioning sounded good.

She trudged up to her room, slinging her schoolbag to the floor. Kagome collapsed onto her bed, relieved to finally give her legs and feet a break. She closed her eyes, relaxing into the plush cushioning of her bed. She scrunched her toes and took a deep breath, pretending her mattress was a cloud, as if she were drifting in the open air into oblivion...

It wasn't working.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome couldn't help but feel as though she were drowning. Loneliness consumed her in a way it never had before; she couldn't shake this feeling of missing someone who wasn't there, someone she didn't even know. It was frustrating her to no end.

Kagome stared up at her ceiling. It was smooth and white – nothing really to look at if not for those blue eyes on her mind. They belonged to a man, she was sure.

His cerulean gaze had a feral edge that pierced her very soul, as if sharp claws tore into her body and held her beating heart. Kagome's chest clenched every time she thought of those eyes, and her whole body quivered… whether in anticipation or in fear, she couldn't quite distinguish.

Whoever he was, he was overwhelming.

Kagome sat up, restless. It was a little unsettling that she couldn't stop imagining a stranger staring at her while she was in bed. Kagome shivered at the thought even though she knew she was the only one there.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked herself. Kagome got up and walked over to her window, gazing outside at the giant tree that stood tall in the shrine courtyard.

Goshinboku.

Its ancient presence always gave her comfort. Whenever she sat under its boughs, her mind cleared instantly and she became at ease.

That sounded good right then.

Making up her mind, Kagome scooped up her shoes and slipped them on mid-step down the stairs. Kicking her heel against the ground, she took a lungful of fresh air and headed towards that ancient presence she craved.

And then it happened.

She felt it before she heard it – an ominous, dark force… the kind that had her hair standing on end and made her skin prickle in heightened sensitivity. It came from the well house just a few yards away, which was too close for Kagome's liking. Far too close.

She wasn't alone anymore.

Kagome's immediate reflex was to run, but her anger at someone trespassing on the shrine property clashed directly with her instincts of self-preservation.

 _'Whoever's hiding in there sure has some nerve!'_ thought Kagome. It's not like they had anything of value to steal anyways – just some old trinkets that her grandpa claimed had spiritual power. Not that the old man had any hocus-pocus spiritual powers to speak of.

Kagome huffed. As if she'd be scared of some petty thief or snot-nosed prankster. Marching over to the well house with a preening glare, Kagome shouted, "Alright, mister! Whoever's in there better come out right now!"

When she received no answer, her anger faltered as panic at the consequences of her stubbornness flashed before her eyes. What if they had a knife? Or worse… a gun?

 _'Should have thought about that, Kagome,'_ she thought, kicking herself. _'Time to backtrack.'_

"I- I called the police already, so don't get any funny ideas," Kagome called, edging closer to the door of the well house.

She winced. _'As if they'd fall for that.'_ Kagome held her breath.

When no one answered, she placed a shaky hand on the door notch.

 _'Ohhhhhhh,'_ Kagome dreaded. _'Ok, ok… get ahold of yourself. You can do this. You've taken some self-defense classes and watched plenty of NCIS.'_

She swallowed her breath and slid open the door in one swift tug.

Buyo popped out of the opening in the doorway, meowing happily at being freed from the dark and dingy well house.

Kagome let out a groan of relief that had been stuck in her throat as a scream of terror.

"Buyo!" Kagome shouted, "You scared the living daylights out of me!" She grabbed the morbidly obese cat, shifting his fleshy body in her grasp.

 _'Hmmmmm, he must have put on a lot of weight to make sounds that loud in the well house. What could he have possibly been knocking over?'_ Kagome considered.

Glancing into the dark building, Kagome's eyes slightly adjusted. Cracks in the thatched roof provided small streams of light for her to see with.

It was dusty, to be sure. No one had been in there in years. Random boxes filled the wooden shelving that lined the walls; dust was caked so thick on them that she couldn't make out their contents, but it was probably extra stock of those bogus trinkets that her grandpa tried to sell to shrine-goers.

'The Shikon no Tama, was it?' She recalled her gramps feeding her some long-winded tale of a miko who guarded the jewel and of the demons that tried to steal it for its power. Of course, Kagome hadn't really paid attention, instead using the plastic ball key-chain to play with Buyo. It was all fake, anyways; there was no way something like the Shikon no Tama ever existed – or demons, for that matter.

"Business doesn't seem to be going great," Kagome said to herself. She felt a rush of guilt overtake her as she thought of the new flip phone her mom had bought for her for her seventeenth birthday. It must have been expensive.

Smirking, she decided she would return the phone to the store and use the money to buy her family something nice. That would be gratifying enough. After all, they did everything for her, even if her gramps had an affinity for weird fairytales and her brother sometimes – or well, always – got on her nerves. She would only ever have one family, and she planned on treasuring them.

You never know when they won't be of this world anymore…

 _'Dad…'_ Kagome thought, biting back tears as her heart ached. It had been so long since she thought of him. His death day was coming up; she secretly knew why her mom avoided staying home alone, and why her gramps busied himself at another shrine instead of endlessly sweeping the courtyard. _'Hopefully I can cheer everyone up with this.'_

Kagome turned to head up to her room for the phone when she felt a chill rake down her spine. She was frozen in place, eyes round and unseeing as fear struck her a fatal blow. Buyo scratched at her arms, trying to escape from her vice-like grip, yet she felt nothing except the venom of terror seeping into her consciousness.

A loud crash sounded from behind Kagome, and a crazy rush of air blew past her as the well exploded.

"THE JEWEL! GIVE ME THE JEWEL!" a gravely voice screeched.

Before Kagome had time to react, she felt her body being dragged towards the well; something sharp and cold had wrapped itself around her, crushing her small frame into submission. Buyo jumped from Kagome's arms, pouncing into the sliver of light as Kagome watched even that disappear, too, when she was pulled down the well into empty darkness.

Kagome Higurashi. Age seventeen. She was going to die… alone.

* * *

 **Updated: December 30, 2018**


	3. The Past

_'Ew, Ew EWWWWW!'_ Kagome cringed, shivering each time she felt one of the creature's legs move up her body. The thing that grabbed Kagome at the Higurashi well was literally her worst nightmare: a giant bug. Or well, sort of.

It had a human female torso, save the six arms that protruded from her sides in an almost broken appearance. She was unclothed, revealing supple breasts without areola. Her face, once humanoid, would have been beautiful if not for the garish smile that cut through her face from ear to ear; elongated fangs and razor-sharp teeth lined her mouth in rows, dripping with venom as she hissed.

Where human legs would be, her lower body instead extended into that of a centipede. Yards upon yards of sectioned flesh sprouted legs, each one slightly longer from the previous as they tangled and coiled around Kagome. She had at least three hundred legs, all of them jagged and clawing their way up Kagome to wrap around her midsection.

One thing's for sure though – Kagome wasn't dead. At least, not yet.

Kagome could barely breathe; the horrifying creature was crushing Kagome's abdomen, pushing her breasts up as she struggled for air. With crumpled whimpers, she pushed against its legs, kicking and screaming with all her might – however feeble that was against it.

The creature demanded for the Shikon no Tama once more, tightening her hold on Kagome.

"Bring it to me!" Mistress Centipede screeched, baring her teeth at the human. "Bring the Shikon no Tama to me!"

Mistress Centipede grasped the human girl with her many spindly legs, appraising the tender morsel in her hold with every tightening breath; the demoness could feel the power of the Shikon no Tama pulse within the girl's flesh, calling out to her demonic aura. After all these years, it had revived her for a reason. She would have it if it were the last thing she did… and then, she would eat this strange human.

Humans had killed Mistress Centipede centuries ago, and if it were not for that priestess – the priestess of the Shikon no Tama, the one they called Kikyo – Mistress Centipede would have become a demon of such prowess as to have the right to mate the Western Lord himself. She would have been unstoppable!

Yet now, Kikyo had to be dead and gone, a pile of bones that they had mistaken her for! Mistress Centipede laughed. As if a mere well could stop her from regenerating, so long as the Shikon jewel was near!

But truly not much had changed – humans, still as weak and soft as ever, and just as delicious. This one seemed especially juicy; perhaps humans' diets had changed, because the girl had a curious amount of tender meat and weak skin instead of tough muscle and scarred flesh. Things were looking up for the once infamous and feared Mistress Centipede.

Annoyed and at the same time terrified, Kagome yelled obstinately, "I don't have it!" Shikon no Tama this, Shikon no Tama that…

 _'This thing can't actually mean that it's real?'_ Kagome wondered. Given her current predicament, that wasn't such a crazy idea. _'Then that means…'_

"Lies!" The demoness hissed. No, she could taste the jewel on this mortal's flesh. "Give it to me so I can devour you! You will help Mistress Centipede regain her strength to take over this world!"

 _'Demons! They're real?'_ Kagome cried.

Just then, a flash of blue light blinded the human and demoness alike. Wind whipped around them violently, snapping in thunderous cracks as they tumbled to the ground with a crash. In all of the chaos, Kagome had been thrown from Mistress Centipede's vice-like grip, landing in a grassy field.

Kagome was breathless and at a loss for words. She had no time to think as her body mechanically got up, driven solely by instincts.

She would not die in the middle of nowhere because of a giant bug!

Kagome started to run, choking back tears as thoughts of her family flooded her thoughts. She ran aimlessly, darting into the trees where she maybe had a chance of hiding. Branches thrashed against her face and arms, and brush scuffed against her bare legs as she sprinted without feeling. Her school uniform was in tatters, her body beaten and broken, her spirit all but crushed at the revelation that she was being hunted – hunted by a demon – and that she would mostly surely die here. Her fate: to be eaten by a giant bug with breasts, over some magical jewel she didn't have.

Suddenly, Kagome fell, scraping her hands and knees on the ground as she skidded to a stop. She could see giant roots weaving themselves in and out of the soil, looking almost like massive snakes with bark that patterned like scales.

 _'This is… Goshinboku?'_ Kagome thought. _'But what happened to the courtyard… and the shrine? My family…'_

She looked up then, her eyes immediately falling to the red-clad figure pegged to the tree. With an arrow.

"Oh my gods!" Kagome screamed, scrambling away from the tree on all fours.

 _'He's dead!'_ she freaked out. _'When did this happen? He wasn't there a couple of minutes ago at the shrine!'_

The police would come and her whole family will be subject to scandal. Who wants to come to a shrine where someone was murdered? And money… it was already tight… what were they going to do?

Kagome glanced back at the corpse, eyes damp with tears at what would befall her family and at the fate of the poor boy before her. He looked so peaceful, as though he were sleeping. That single wooden arrow suspended him in place, a feat she thought defied the law of gravity; how painful it must have been, having all of his weight pinpointed at his heart like that.

 _'He really does look like he's sleeping…'_

Looking at this boy seemed to freeze time itself for her, and in that one instance, she managed to forget Mistress Centipede and her own crippled body. Everything around her melted away save for him, and he alone became her world. Even Goshinboku seemed to have grown around him, hugging his frame to its wooden core in a protective embrace. The roots formed a staircase leading up to the boy, and where he rest against the tree, the bark had gone bare.

"Just like how it is back home," Kagome murmured in awe. She couldn't help her morbid curiosity; she had always wondered how such a scar had formed on the ancient tree.

 _'Wait, this isn't possible,'_ Kagome thought, frowning. The scar had happened long before she was born – or even before her grandfather, for that matter. That would mean she's in the past, only the gods know how far.

 _'No… way.'_ Kagome stared down at her bloody hands in disbelief.

Gramps had told her once before how the scar formed on the tree, a story passed down from generation to generation; the story of how the Shikon no Tama brought pain and suffering to those it encountered, and of the tragic end to two star-crossed lovers: the miko who protected the Shikon jewel, and the demon who used her heart to try and steal it. It was said that at his betrayal, the miko's heart still beat for him, and in her last breath, she shot an arrow aimed at him not to kill, but to seal. And so he stayed in slumber, untouched by time, where he would never be able to join her soul in the afterlife.

Everything, it seemed, traced back to that jewel – the Shikon no Tama. Perhaps it really did bring misery, because it seemed to have pulled her into this never-ending nightmare.

Who was this boy? Was he the one in the story that she heard of so long ago? She felt drawn to him, somehow. It was as though he was giving off an aura that called to her, like she was meant to find him there, pinned to a tree. Despite her weariness, Kagome edged closer to him, irrevocably nosey yet afraid that he might somehow wake up from his eternal slumber.

 _'That's silly,'_ Kagome smirked. _'I mean, he's dead… right?'_ He definitely wasn't moving, and from what she could tell, he wasn't breathing, either. The only things about him that seemed to move were his long silver hair and his bright red robes. Other than that, he was as still as death.

She shook her head at her own ridiculousness, muttering, "Nobody could survive an arrow to the heart like that."

And then that small voice echoed in the back of her mind. _'Unless he's a demon.'_

Demons. They were real. One was chasing her.

Her eyes travelled to the white ears peeking out from his unruly silver mane, and then to the traditional yet extraordinarily tacky red haori he wore.

She didn't notice how close she had gotten to him until some of his silver hair got caught in her hand that was reaching for his face.

 _'Ah!'_ Kagome gasp, blushing ashamedly, _'What am I doing? This is… technically tampering with evidence…'_

But really, up close he was quite handsome. His hair, though wild and longer than her own, framed his soft features delicately. The only thing harsh about his face were his sharp and dark eyebrows, which angled down into the gentle slope of his nose. His lips were a light rouge, seemingly supple and moist. And most of all, his long eyelashes caught the light with a glimmer; what color were his eyes behind those lashes?

Her thoughts flitted back to the striking blue gaze in her daydreams. Shaking her head, she turned back to the boy before her when her eyes caught molten amber ones.

"Holy!" Kagome screamed in shock, falling backwards. Her heart felt like it leapt from her chest, and she could practically taste the bile from mere shock in the back of her throat. _'He… he's staring right at me!'_

"Keh!" The boy snarled, looking at Kagome with rage-filled eyes, "Why do you have that dumb look on your face, Kikyo?"

' _K… Kikyo?'_ Something stirred deep inside Kagome, something that made her feel unsettled. _'And… did he just call me dumb?'_

"Who is Kikyo?" Kagome asked, standing up and brushing off what remained of her skirt, "I'm Kagome."

The boy made a hoarse laugh that sounded almost like a bark. "What are you playing at, Kikyo? I can smell you! And what's with those strange clothes? Whoring yourself out now, are you? I suppose you always were a bit too pretty to lead the pious life of a miko."

 _'What is he talking about?'_ But that word reverberated in her head – whore. She'd never been talked to like that before, but each time she thought about it, she got angrier and angrier. "Look here," Kagome shouted, rolling her weight to her left leg and setting a white-knuckled fist on her hip, "I'm not Kikyo. I'm Ka-go-me. Who do you think you are, anyways? This is my school uniform! Nothing like… Nothing like that!" She turned away then with a 'humph,' face red both in anger and in embarrassment.

The boy just laughed. "You're not acting like yourself, Kikyo! Couldn't finish me off, could ya? Humans are… weak!"

"Can't you understand Japanese? I'm Kagome, not Kikyo!"

Just then, a loud crash from the trees burst a large cloud of dust, but through the commotion her voice was loud and clear. "Kikyo? Where are you priestess? The one who killed me, I will devour you!" Mistress Centipede roared.

Kagome shrank back towards the boy, liking her chances better near him than that giant bug lady. _'Ohhh, why is this happening to me?'_

"What wrong, Kikyo?" The boy asked, amused that the mortal had the audacity to show her back to him. "Why haven't you killed that Ōmukade? You can kill it with one arrow!"

"I told you!" Kagome cried, "I'm not Kikyo!"

"Not… Kikyo?" He wondered, finally getting a good whiff of the human girl. She was right. Her scent was similar – extremely so – but it wasn't quite the same. Inuyasha smiled. If she wasn't Kikyo, then she was just some dumb human girl. "Alright," he said, "if you pull this arrow out, I'll kill that oversized centipede for you."

"You will?" Kagome asked, turning to him with hopeful eyes.

The more he looked at her, the more she looked different from Kikyo. Her eyes were wider, her nose a little smaller, her face paler and more pink in tone. And her eyes, they were a brilliant blue where Kikyo's were an earthen brown. She was pretty for a mortal girl, but she was nothing compared to Kikyo. This Kagome was, after all, only an imposter.

 _'And then, when she releases me, I'll take care of the centipede and then kill her, too. Imposter or not, I've got a bone to pick.'_

"Yeah, sure," Inuyasha smiled pleasantly, "I'm way stronger than this thing." He nodded his head in the direction of Mistress Centipede.

"Really?" Kagome asked, her gaze twinkling. Maybe she would actually get through this thing!

Inuyasha smirked, a little perturbed that this girl couldn't sense the obvious difference in their strength. Maybe it was the arrow suppressing his yoki. "It's not like you got any other option, Ka-go-me. Hurry up and take out this arrow!"

Kagome grimaced, reaching for the arrow. Her fingers just brushed the wood when her body was thrust from the boy, locked in the jaws of Mistress Centipede. Kagome let out a blood curdling scream, feeling her right hip get torn open from Mistress Centipede's venomous fang.

And then it happened.

Kagome was dropped to the ground like a piece of discarded meat at Mistress Centipede roared, "The Shikon jewel! It's mine at last!"

Kagome could barely see as the pink orbed was engulfed in the demoness's mouth, from there promptly swallowed. A ghastly tearing noise sounded as Mistress Centipede's human flesh ripped away to reveal dark purple, leathered skin underneath. Her face lost all beauty, her lips gone and replaced with yet more rows of fangs. Her once black eyes started to glow a bright red, similar to the color of the boy's haori.

Mistress Centipede could only see red. She wanted to kill – to consume the world and absorb its power. And she could, all thanks to the Shikon no Tama.

"You better hurry up with this arrow, or we're both bug food!" Inuyasha shouted at the human, actually a little worried for his situation given the change in circumstances. He had planned to find Kikyo and steal the jewel to become a full-blooded demon, but now that centipede had it!

"Right!" Kagome called fiercely. She dragged her failing body towards Goshinboku, lifting her weight with her arms as she reached the boy. She pulled herself up using his clothing as footholds, reaching for the arrow with all her might, praying she could pull it out.

Just as she touched it, she could hear someone cry, "Stop! Don't pull out the arrow!"

And then the arrow disappeared in a flash of pink light.

* * *

 **Updated: December 30, 2018**


	4. First Love

**two months later...**

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Kagome called softly, laying against her massive yellow backpack and staring up at the stars. The luminaries faceted the night-veiled sky in a sporadic swirl, mapping out the souls that left this world in a solemn glow.

It made her think of Kikyo, Kagome's Shikon predecessor who was brought back to life against her will. What a somber existence Kikyo led, walking the earth, fueled by part of Kagome's soul and the souls of departed maidens. The pain Kikyo must have bore as the torment of lost life entered her clay and ashen body…

Kagome's heart ached, whether for her predecessor or for her own selfish desires, she knew not. Kagome did know, however, that Inuyasha was thinking of Kikyo, too.

It made her heart clench.

"Yeah?" Was all he said in response to her.

"Do you remember how we first met?" she asked wistfully. She recalled how he had called her Kikyo, and in her innocence, hadn't realized the pain that would be evoked within her every time he spoke the undead miko's name. Kagome vividly remembered feeling her soul tear away from her body, watching with fading eyes as her essence poured into the clay corpse when Inuyasha called out to his dead lover.

 _'Even if Kikyo walks on this plain… She isn't the same Kikyo that Inuyasha loved fifty years ago,'_ Kagome thought, tears brimming on her lower lashes, _'But, I can't compete with a memory.'_

That's all Kagome was to Inuyasha: a reminder of what once was, a mere echo of the past he shared with another.

"Of course I remember," Inuyasha scoffed. That day was as vivid to him as the day it happened. How could he forget meeting his strong-willed companion, half-naked and looking up at him like he was some great hero for defeating a measly Ōmukade? The look in Kagome's eyes that contrasted so greatly with Kikyo's on that day – a day that lasted fifty years for Inuyasha.

Kagome sighed, knowing he recalled how he mistook her for Kikyo, only a mere instance dividing her from her predecessor in Inuyasha's mind at Goshinboku. One minute, Kikyo aimed her arrow at him, in the other, Kagome purified said arrow from his chest. She thought maybe, like the arrow, she could heal the wound to Inuyasha's heart; perhaps it had scarred and left him callus to such emotions, or perhaps he was secretly bleeding out, pushing everyone away because of his own shame and hurt.

Either way, she had yet to reach her beloved hanyou's heart when all it desired were cold, clay hands.

She glanced down at her hands then, splaying her fingers as if to see that they still worked.

"Hey, Inuyasha… Do you think about it often?" Kagome whispered, knowing full well that he could hear her in their quiet camp, "The day that Kikyo died…"

The hanyou was silent for a moment. He knew that Kagome was getting herself worked up again like she always did, and yet, she sounded eerily calm. For some reason, that unsettled him more than if she got upset, as if – if he said the wrong thing, he would lose her forever. He didn't want that.

So he lied.

"Who'd want to relive that? That arrow fucking hurt," Inuyasha said gruffly, turning away so she couldn't watch his face. He crossed his arms in a defensive stance as he sat up in his tree.

In truth, he thought about it every day, because every day they came across more treachery Naraku had caused. He saw others suffer in the same way he did – Sango, Miroku, hell even that old bag Kaede – and it made him hate his weakness against Naraku even more. He needed to make up for his failure, and since Kikyo once again walked the earth, he would stop at nothing until her soul rested in peace. He owed her that much.

A bittersweet smile graced Kagome's lips. Even then, Inuyasha was trying to protect her against himself. Softly, she asked, "When you go see her, do you think about her death… or of her resurrection?"

Inuyasha froze. He'd gone off to see Kikyo a few times when he caught glimpses of her Soul Collectors, but he hadn't known that Kagome noticed. Maybe the fox brat told her. Shippo would do anything to get Kagome all to himself. Even now, the kit was wrapped up in Kagome's sleeping bag, keeping her warm and staving off the chill of early autumn air. He used to be the one to do that, and a stroke of jealousy lanced through Inuyasha's chest. He was thankful to have a pack now - it was all thanks to Kagome and her big heart - but he also missed the days when it was just them.

"It's ok," Kagome said, quietly crying. She stroked Shippo's auburn hair gently, her small kit sleeping in her lap soundly and giving her a sense of comfort. Shippo gave her a strength she didn't know she had. "It's ok to miss her," Kagome whispered, hiding the crack in her voice.

 _'Just don't follow her to Hell...'_ Kagome silently prayed.

The smell of salty tears drifted up to Inuyasha, and his ears sank as he sensed her sorrow. He wanted to console her, but he didn't know how to do that without letting her know his feelings. He couldn't open up to her; it wouldn't be fair to Kagome. No matter his feelings for her, he had obligations to Kikyo. He needed closure for what happened fifty years ago.

"I'm sorry," was all Inuyasha said before leaning back, effectively ending the conversation as he pretended to drift off to sleep. He lay there, motionless, enduring the anguish of Kagome's heartbreak. With each tear she shed, he hated himself that much more, until finally, he as well let silent tears fall as he watched the moon wane.

Kikyo may have been his first love, but she was not his last.

Kagome closed her eyes, turning on her side to face the fire that still burned low. Shippo was tucked in against her lower stomach, and she wrapped her arms around him. Her heart was in anguish, yet she knew it wasn't broken, for a part of it was reserved for someone else - someone she couldn't remember save his sapphire eyes.

She drifted off then, the firelight dancing warm hues against her eyelids as she dreamt of bonfires and caves and the warm feel of fur against flesh.

* * *

 **Updated: December 30, 2018**


	5. The Meeting

It was a blood bath. Men, women and children alike – slaughtered.

None seemed to have befallen a quick death. Blood spattered the walls and seeped into the ground, creating a putrid mud that saturated the destroyed village. Limbs and partially devoured corpses littered the area. The faces of those victims – if their face was at all distinguishable – were contorted into expressions of unadulterated agony.

Inuyasha's group came upon this scene after seeing the smoke in the sky, having just left a child in the care of his grandpa who resided there.

Kagome gasped in horror at the carnage. It looked as though a savage beast maimed and killed these people without abandon, though undoubtedly this was a demon's work. She could sense an overwhelming amount of yoki… and three jewel shards.

"Inuyasha, there's jewel shards nearby!" Kagome said quickly, scanning the area for that familiar glow. She drew her bow taught with an already notched arrow.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, "I wouldn't doubt it by the looks of this place."

Miroku muttered a chant under his breath, crossing his hand in the air to finish the prayer for all the lost souls. "Yes," Miroku agreed mournfully, "The jewel only seems to bring destruction in its wake."

 _'Much like Naraku,'_ he noted. The others thought something similar.

Sango had seen scenes like this before. Her own village flashed before her eyes, driving an anger so searing through her veins that it felt like ice. She would find whoever did this and kill them, so that maybe these villagers could find some solace at being avenged. And one day, Naraku would pay, too, for what he'd done.

But for now… "Whomever did this will pay," Sango hissed behind her mask. Her fingers brushed against Hiraikotsu, itching to rip her weapon through the culprit. Miroku gently squeezed her shoulder with his usually wandering hand, trying to give some form of comfort amidst all the carnage around them.

The hanyou could smell something foul beyond the blood and decay and ash, something that made his hackles rise in innate dislike. It was a scent he recognized without even knowing it.

"Wolf," Inuyasha said, just as a tall figure walked before them.

The man strolled to a waltzing stop, peering at the odd rag-tag group. How strange they looked to him. _'Humans, yokai and a hanyou?'_ he thought, slightly amused. None of them posed much of a threat since the only full-blood yokai were a firecat and a fox child. He smirked, sensing jewel shards in their possession. _'This is going to be easy.'_

When Kagome got a good look at demon before them, her breath hitched.

He was strong. Muscles fleshed his poised form, sleek and elegantly sloping upon his chiseled frame. He emitted a bestial vitality, each muscle naturally flexed with the acute tremors of adrenaline and the hardness of masculine sensuality, yet his beauty transcended everything of mortal making. His skin was naturally sun-kissed, as if it retained the fiery glow of the sunset or the glimmer of a freshly crafted sword still hot from the embers it was forged in. He looks like he was cut from gold and then sculpted by the Gods, because his every feature was devastatingly handsome, and he far surpassed any vision crafted by artisans or the mortal eye.

He had brown fur wrapped around his cut waist, where a brown tail also hung to his knees; Kagome couldn't tell if they were one in the same, because she detected some movement as his tail gently swished in the breeze. Fur also wrapped around his shins and wrists, each slightly different in length, which showed they were the pelts of different animals that he brandished. He had a chest plate that covered a most certainly chiseled abdomen, which was tied in place with leather cords and topped with fur gauntlets. A fur headband rested just under his wild, wind-blown bangs.

Dark locks crowned his visage; coarse and tousled upon his head, it was pulled back with a leather cord, yet the delicate innocence of baby hair framed his face and was kind on his features. His obsidian hair was lush, and it glistened with a golden tint in the sunlight like wavelets in a stream, softly flowing in the breeze with gentle caress. His cerulean blue eyes delighted in rippling sensuality, washing over Kagome as she drowned in them, a flood of familiarity crashing into her.

"Are you the one that did this?" Inuyasha yelled, drawing Tetsusaiga. The old sword grew into a giant blade. He bit back a snarl at the wolf yokai's smirk.

"Are you the ones who killed my wolves?" the demon roared.

Kagome noticed his beautiful blue eyes bleed into a light pink, and that his yoki pulsed along with the power of the Shikon no Tama.

"Be careful, Inuyasha!" Kagome called, "he's got three shards! One in his arm and in both his legs!"

In truth, she didn't want Inuyasha swinging Tetsusaiga around and killing him, because she was certain that he was someone more than just another demon to add to their kill roster. And what's more… _'The jewel shards… they're not tainted?'_ Kagome was shocked, but sure enough, a light pink glow emanated from his lithe limbs. How could someone capable of this massacre have pure jewel shards? What had really happened here?

 _'SHE CAN SEE THEM?'_ Kouga roared in his mind, concealing his surprise from his enemies like the trained warrior prince he was. _'She looks like an ordinary human!'_

He looked closer, noticing her odd and revealing green outfit. Was that supposed to be a miko's uniform? By the looks of her arrow, it seemed so, although her arrow was not pointed at him.

 _'What a strange girl,'_ Kouga thought. Any other miko would surely aim and take fire, yet this one hesitated. Perhaps she sensed the difference in her power compared to his own. _'How… convenient.'_

Kouga grinned.

Inuyasha saw the wolf demon smile and lost it. "Why you!" he screamed, charging blindly.

Kouga easily evaded the hanyou's brash and reckless attacks, not even needing the power of the jewel shards in his legs for enhanced speed. The mutt attacked too wide, leaving vulnerabilities that Kouga took full advantage of. Landing a punch to the dog's gut, Kouga drove the hit home with a burst of power from the Shikon jewel.

Inuyasha was thrown back several yards, landing barely on his feet in front of his friends. The wolf was fast. Too fast.

 _'This would be the perfect time to try the Windscar,'_ Inuyasha thought, glancing down at his brandished weapon. Otherwise, Inuyasha didn't know if he could win. Raising Tetsusaiga above his head, Inuyasha looked closely for where their two yoki met. Finding his mark, Tetsusaiga began to swirl with power, creating a cyclone of destruction around the blade.

Kouga sensed this. Something wasn't right. _'The hanyou's yoki shifted?'_

Whatever it was, it made Kouga's hair stand on end. Every wolf instinct in his body told him to run, and that he did.

Kouga knew how to pick his battles.

"Something's wrong!" Kouga called to his pack mates, "Fall back!" And with that, he turned and ran for the woods, leaving a very disgruntled Inuyasha behind in the dust.

Kagome and the others stood in silent awe as the wolf demon sped away in a whirlwind.

"Well, Inuyasha," Kagome said in the smoothest tone possible, "it looks like you've been jilted."

Secretly, she hid a soft smile of relief. Her heart had ached throughout the short-lived battle, but whether it burned for Inuyasha or the wolf demon, something told her she didn't want to find out.

* * *

 **Updated: December 30, 2018**


	6. The Plan

Kouga leaned back on a pile of furs, staring up at the cave ceiling with his arms cushioning the back of his head. Paintings lined the walls, depicting the Eastern Wolf tribe's greatest victories in an almost primitive opulence. They were drawn in the smeared blood of their fallen enemies, some having faded with the ages as the bloody masterpieces blackened in time.

Kouga's cerulean gaze fell upon the painting done in his image, probably the only one to mar the cave's artistry: his ascension to tribe leader. It was the most gruesome depiction of them all, despite the glistening gore that still dripped from it on occasion. Where the others were clearly painted with defined lines and definitive shapes, Kouga's had slashes and splatters – a lone figure standing in a mayhem of carnage.

Kouga bit his bottom lip with a fang. The warm taste of his blood slipped into his mouth through the crease of his pursed lips. He could still taste the bittersweet victory of his jaw clamping down on the other wolf's neck – still feel his enemy's esophagus tear from its throat. Every time Kouga slept, he would awaken to that deafening roar of death, which was silenced into a putrid gargling by his kin's suffocation on their own blood.

He was not meant to rule so soon, not when he could do nothing except watch his comrades be picked off one by one or be slaughtered by the dozens. Kouga's hand balled into an aggravated fist, pulling his hair between curled fingers; his claws sliced the leather cord holding up his mane, letting his long ebony locks fall around his face loosely.

He was a failure to his people… as a tribe leader, and as the last remaining prince of their kin.

 _'The Dark Prince…'_ Kouga thought with a wince. _'They forget I have better hearing than them.'_

He closed his eyes, listening to the usual growls of wolves and the silent echo that the cave always seemed to carry. _'Perhaps he was right… that it's better to be feared than loved.'_

Or perhaps, Kouga was just no better.

 _'Damn it! If only there was some way to prove myself, then –'_

Except there was. The thought dawned on Kouga so suddenly that he felt his heart stop momentarily as the sinister plan sunk in. His inner wolf trembled with excitement at the prospects of newfound power and war.

If he could get his claws on the Shikon no Tama, then… he would be unstoppable. His people would no longer suffer at the claws of the Birds of Paradise…

 _'Or from that damned Lord of the Western Lands,'_ Kouga thought bitterly. A century ago, when Kouga was just a cub, the Inu no Taisho demanded obedience of his alliance with the wolf tribes in his great battle against Ryukotsusei, one that resulted in the wolf population being nearly wiped out – all over some human hime. And now, the great Dog General's son Sesshomaru walked with a mortal child.

Kouga wouldn't roll over and show his belly to the Inu daiyokai like his elder brother had and his father before him. Never again would wolf yokai blood be spilled for the sake of humans. Kouga would make sure of that – over his dead body, to be sure. But, with the Shikon no Tama, maybe it wouldn't come down to that. Perhaps he could become stronger than the daiyokai himself, and it'd be over Sesshomaru's dead body.

However, he'd need the completed Shikon jewel to gain that kind of power.

 _'That human girl, the miko,'_ Kouga remembered, _'she can sense them – the shards.'_ If he had her, then he could have the completed Shikon no Tama.

Kouga grinned, fangs practically dripping in satisfaction. _'With her, I can finally take the shard that overgrown turkey has. The power of the Shikon jewel is only fodder to their appetite for wolf meat, anyways. We ain't easy pickins for those bird brains without it.'_

He licked his lips, his grin retracting into a content smirk. Soon, a grand turkey dinner would be on the menu, one his tribesmen could celebrate – of their victory over the Birds of Paradise, and hopefully for the restored honor of their Dark Prince: Kouga.

The young wolf leader sank back into the furs, his dark brown tail swishing beside him. His chest armor pressed uncomfortably on his abdomen, but he wasn't stupid enough to remove it and have his stomach exposed – that was an invitation to get gutted by a defector of the tribe. His reign was still tentative, and with his failure from today, even more so.

 _'I didn't capture Shiro,_ ' Kouga mused absently. He had gone to the human village and killed those who hid the defector wolf from him. Any wolf who chose his loyalties to the former Eastern wolf leader was an enemy of Kouga's, and Kouga allowed no room for any to challenge his right to rule.

He sighed lazily. The sun was hanging low in the sky, spilling across the horizon like a broken yoke. Night would soon fall. The wolf hunt would have to continue the next day. Somehow, Kouga knew that he wouldn't sleep well until Shiro had been caught... and executed. Sadness burdened his heart at Shiro's betrayal, but anger squelched it.

"To hell with him," Kouga hissed to himself bitterly. "See if I care."

He kicked at the air absently. A cool draft brushed past his legs, making him tingle as he remembered that hanyou's sword.

 _'What was that?'_ Kouga thought pensively, _'How does a hanyou hold such power?'_

The wolf demon recalled sensing jewel shards amongst that strange group of travellers. Was it the power of the Shikon no Tama that lent the half-demon his strength?

 _'No,'_ Kouga surmised, _'It's that sword of his.'_ Word had gotten around that Kouga, the fierce wolf prince and the youngest leader of the Eastern wolf tribe, turned tail because of a mere hanyou and a couple humans.

Humans.

Kouga's thoughts drifted to the young miko in that divine little green outfit; how delicious she had looked… if the hanyou swinging his sword around like a tantruming baboon didn't get in the way, maybe Kouga would have taken a bite. Just one, though – she could still be helpful with one arm, and probably less dangerous to the pack that way.

Kouga wondered why the hanyou hadn't done the same. Even with the mortal blood marring his yoki, the half demon should have thirsted for her as any man with a ferocious appetite would. Perhaps the hanyou had a few tricks up his horrendously tacky red sleeves? Somehow, Kouga got the feeling that the rag-tag group centered around the miko, not the hanyou.

 _'Is she truly so powerful as to have a taijiya, a monk, a hanyou and several demons follow her?'_ Kouga wondered. He smirked. Before then, all Kouga thought humans were good for was fodder. _'Maybe I was wrong…'_

A sinfully wicked smile curved his lips, revealing sharp fangs that glinted with a delicious idea. Blood from some of the villagers still stained his mouth, and some of their flesh was still stuck underneath his claws. By the time dawn broke the next morning, the miko would be his.

"Hey, Koga!"

Two pairs of bare feet pounded against the cave floor, stopping with a skid just before him. Kouga looked up to see his childhood friends, Ginta and Hakkaku, watch him curiously. He arched his back up, springing from the ground with a push of his arms and a heave of his chest, and stood before them with a mischievous expression.

"Perfect timing, for once," Kouga said to them, "I need you two slowpokes to do something for me."

Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged a look. They hadn't seen Kouga act like this in a long while – not since his leadership of the pack began – but by the silent chuckle that echoed his every word, they knew the old Kouga was coming back to them.

Proud, mischievous, unwavering Kouga: the fiercest wolf warrior ever known, a born-to-be ruler of all the wolf clans.

He had finally lay rest the qualms of his honor, and he would rule. Fervently.

* * *

 **Updated: December 31, 2018**


	7. Bloodlust

Kagome sat in front of the fire, staring emptily into a pot as she stirred several packets' worth of chicken ramen. The little bits of flavor that swirled in the broth caught her eye aimlessly, moving with a captivating rhythm that had her transfixed.

She was exhausted, but so many days of travel without a good bed to sleep on would do that to someone. Especially someone such as herself – just your average time travelling miko – who was used to all the comforts of the modern era: a microwave, for one.

 _'Why is this taking so long?'_ Kagome thought restlessly, _'Inuyasha's just about had it.'_

She glanced over at her handsome companion, who looked every bit the dog demon he was as he sat on his haunches, eyes locked in a mortal struggle with the still cooking pot of ramen. He seemed to be fighting his desire to chug the whole thing then and there – not that Inuyasha would notice the noodles were only partially cooked; he engulfed his food without chewing half the time, anyways.

Kagome smirked. _'He wouldn't dare,'_ she ruminated, _'Not tonight.'_ Still, Kagome kept him in her peripheral vision. If he made one move for the ramen before she served it to him, she would 'Osuwari' him into oblivion.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as the image of Inuyasha slurping ramen from a dog bowl came to mind. _'He probably wouldn't even know,'_ Kagome mused. But if he ever found out…

"Oi, what's so funny, wench?" Inuyasha barked, "Quit goofing off and get the ramen done already!" He shifted from his crouched position to nestle himself into a comfortable sitting position, shoving his arms in the humongous sleeves of his haori as he sat there, impatient. His ears twitched, just like Kagome's eyebrow as a blood vessel nearly popped in her temple.

"Stop complaining, jerk! I don't see you helping!" Kagome shouted, practically in tears as pent up hurt and frustration came to the had been getting on her nerves. For the past few days, he'd been acting weird… more than his usual Inu tendencies and trademark gruffness, which often landed him a foot in his mouth or a face full of dirt. No, instead of pestering Kagome constantly over any little thing, he avoided her at all costs. She'd had to walk the entire afternoon for the past several days, and her body had just about had it – and so had she.

Inuyasha straightened up then, smelling her tears brimming on her eyelashes. He wanted her to cry for him, but not like this… he wanted to grab her by the hair and pull her into a tight embrace, hugging her voluptuous body to him and feeling those feminine curves that Kagome's outfit hid well but not well enough. He wanted to take those plush lips of hers that had curses against him on the tip of her sweet little tongue, waiting for all the Osuwaris to fall from them as he fell so completely and irrevocably in love with her that he couldn't stand it anymore… so that he could abandon his honor and abandon Kikyo until all that was left was him and the woman he loved: Kagome.

But he didn't deserve her – at least, not yet. He could abandon his honor, but he wouldn't tarnish Kagome's; if he was going to be with her, he was going to do it right this time. The past haunted him, true, but what he really sought after in Kikyo wasn't the ghost of his former lover, but the part of Kagome's soul that still resided in Kikyo's clay and ashen body. That missing piece of Kagome's soul brought both of his lovers anguish, something he wished to end for both of the Shikon maidens.

The problem was, he didn't know how… well, except for smashing Kikyo into dust, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had loved her in another life, after all, and despite the misdeeds she'd done in this one, he didn't hate her. He couldn't.

He also couldn't stand Kagome crying like this, so he tried to end the conversation before it escalated. "Shut up and give me some ramen before you burn the whole pot!" Inuyasha growled, lashing out to hide the quiet whimper purring in the back of his throat.

Kagome's heart stopped, her complexion turning an icy white as the pain of Inuyasha's inconsiderateness lashed her like a whip. And then the anger came like a flood, breaking the dam that held all of her irritation towards Inuyasha back in a cesspool of festering animosity.

"Osuwari, osuwari, OSUWARI!" Kagome screeched, throwing the spoon she was stirring the ramen with into the pot. It kerplunked to the bottom with a deafening plink, as scarcely a pin drop could be heard amongst the camp.

Sango and Miroku had been silently listening to the argument, writing it off as their usual banter, but as the monk and demon slayer stared at their miko friend quietly, they knew this one was different. Shippo shook his head in disproval, not daring to sigh out his pity for the stupid hanyou.

 _'Inuyasha really outdid himself this time,'_ Shippo thought to himself, _'pushing mama like that.'_ Shippo loved his adoptive mother with all of his little Kitsune heart, but even he got a little nervous when Kagome started glowing a soft pink. He didn't like Inuyasha all too much for the beatings he gave him and how he treated Kagome, but he didn't really want the hanyou purified either… _'Mama would be upset if she did that without realizing it.'_

The small fox child was mustering up his courage to call out to Kagome when Inuyasha made a low grunting noise as he fought the power of the subjugation beads.

"Damn it, Kagome, why'd'ya always have to do that? It fucking hurts!" Inuyasha growled in an almost hiss. He was shoving against the weight of the subjugation beads like he would a push up, except even with his demon strength, he was obviously still struggling against the invisible force.

Kagome snapped, "You know what else hurts? Being treated like I'm less value to you than the stupid jewel fragments! Oh right, I'm just a shard detector to you! I forget sometimes that you managed to find yourself an undead replacement for me!" Her voice escalated with each word, and with it, the slight vibrato of hurt.

Inuyasha snarled. "Shut up, wench! You don't know anything about that!" His claws raked the dirt as he fought his way into a crouched position.

Kagome scoffed. "I know you go running off to see her every chance you get! What'd you do with her out in the woods, huh? Are you so ASHAMED of it that you can't even look me in the eye? Is she the reason you've been avoiding me for the past week?!"

Inuyasha looked up then, locking gazes with her as red started to bleed into his eyes. Sharp fangs protruded ever so slightly below his upper lip, which was pulled back into an angry snarl. His demon blood taking over lessened the burden of the subjugation beads, allowing him to stand from his crouched position. His movements were lithe and feral as he stalked towards Kagome, blood racing as he took in her scent. Oh, her sweet scent that tickled his nose, mashed with the spice of anger, spiked by the intoxicating taste that was Kagome during her moon's cycle… Fuck.

"No, Kagome," Inuyasha purred as he came up to her, eyes tinting a richer scarlet as he took in the scent of the blood of her womb, which clung to her like a musky perfume. "I haven't so much as touched you or…" Inuyasha inhaled deeply, "smelled you, because it's making me crazy. You are making me crazy."

Kagome shrank back from Inuyasha, confused and a little dazed at his actions. "W- what?" she asked meekly. Kagome tried stepping back when she felt his body heat pressed up against hers, but he grabbed her wrist and held her tightly to him. She was nervous at his touch, not because of his demon blood, but because of Inuyasha himself. He'd never interacted with her with so much… sex appeal. She didn't even know he had this side of him! With a bitter afterthought, Kagome realized that this side - until now - was reserved for Kikyo.

Inuyasha chuckled, skimming his nose gently across her cheek and down her neck, where Kagome was most vulnerable. "You see, Kagome," he whispered against her flesh, lips fluttering against her throat, "right now, you bring on my... bloodlust." His voice clung to the last part with suggestive amusement.

Kagome blushed, realizing what he meant. _'Oh.'_

Inuyasha continued, "Every month, you bleed. You bleed, and I suffer as your blood brings my yoki forward. Do you know how hard it is to ignore a woman who's about to go into heat? The kind of self restraint I have to pull?"

Kagome, in all of her embarrassment, couldn't ignore the nagging question that popped up at his statement. "But, Sango-"

"Don't," Inuyasha growled angrily, almost sounding offended, "I may be a dog, but I'm also human, too. It's just you, Ka-go-me. Only you do this to me."

"Except I don't!" Kagome wailed, "Of course an old teapot that smells of graveyard soil won't… well, you know! If she could-"

Inuyasha snarled, pushing Kagome roughly against a tree. A small sound of pain escaped her, mostly out of shock. "Don't mention her again," Inuyasha said darkly, "stop driving me crazy before a take you right here against this tree in front of everybody."

Kagome's eyes squinted into angry slits. Like hell he'd talk down to her like this. "Who do you-" Kagome began to shout, but was cut off immediately by the feeling of Inuyasha's mouth clamping down on her throat. His fangs pressed against her flesh, not enough to break the skin, but enough to try and make her submit.

"Shut up before my yoki makes you," Inuyasha warned against her neck, his breath a balm to soothe her frantic heart. He could hear her heartbeat and feel her escalated pulse pushing through her succulent veins. If only she knew how her blood sang to him and how much her voice called to him like a siren's. She drove his inner yokai insane, so oftentimes he acted dumb because he was too distracted suppressing it to pay attention to what he said or did.

It was in those few moments where his yokai was in sync with him, when he opened up to her and showed her a glimpse of his true self, that made her fall in love with him, and he knew it. If only he could show that side to her always… that way, she'd never look away from him, never leave him, never stop loving him…

Inuyasha knew what he had to do. He pulled back from Kagome then, staring deep into her crystal blue gaze, and then he crushed his lips to hers in a searing kiss before sprinting away into the forest. Kagome stood there, knees buckling, and as she sank to the ground, Kagome touched her swollen lips with her fingertips questioningly.

"What the hell just happened?" Shippo said, knowing Inuyasha was finally out of hearing.

Sango made a censuring noise at the little kitsune. "Language, Shippo! Don't go talking like Inuyasha."

"Well, he's certainly full of surprises," Miroku murmured absently, secretly planning to talk to said hanyou and get a few pointers to try out on his lovely Sango. For a minute there, he was worried he'd have to protect his beloved taijiya from Inuyasha's apparently veracious sexual appetite. _'Thank Kami it didn't come to that,'_ Miroku thought, subconsciously making a prayer motion.

"I…" Kagome stumbled to find words, "I don't know…" She looked up at her friends with dazed eyes, a look of sorrow drooping her usually perky expression. Her normally bright gaze was foggy, and Kagome's typically smiling mouth sat limp, partially parted as a soft sigh escaped from her.

Sango felt pity for her friend. _'Poor Kagome, caught in this ridiculous love triangle. Inuyasha needs to make his choice.'_ If he didn't, Sango surely would make the choice for him by smashing that wicked clay doll to pieces with Hiraikotsu. _'Stupid dog.'_

"Hey, Kagome?" Shippo asked, hopping up to his surrogate mom with worry. When she didn't respond, Shippo panicked, "Mama?"

Kagome blinked. Looking down at the child, she asked softly, "'Mama'?"

Shippo's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He didn't want to scare her away by thinking she had responsibility to him; he didn't want to be too needy like Inuyasha and end up losing her because of it. "Oh, no, I didn't mean to, it… it just sort of slipped out!" Shippo squeaked, practically in tears, "I- I'm sorry, I-"

"Shhhhh, Shippo," Kagome cooed, wrapping her arms around her auburn crowned Kitsune, "Thank you… for accepting me as your mother. I love you, too." She stroked his hair gently, playing with the blue bow holding his curly mane back. How familiar it felt, playing with hair that was tied back, except for some reason she remembered it being longer… and darker…

Kagome gasped.

"I think I'm going to go bathe," she announced to the group, setting Shippo on the ground beside her. Kilala hopped over to her Kitsune companion and licked the small boy in congratulations.

"Oh, do you want me to come with you?" Sango asked, preparing to get up from where she was seated across the camp.

"No!" Kagome nearly begged, before saying more calmly, "I need to be alone right now… to process some things."

Sango nodded knowingly. "Okay. Call us if you need us. I'll keep watch on the peeping tom," she said lightly, before correcting herself, "well, this one at least." Sango gestured to the lecherous monk beside her.

Kagome blushed, understanding Sango's meaning. "Thanks, guys," she murmured. Grabbing her bathing supplies, Kagome quickly made her way out of the camp.

Taking her first real breath since Inuyasha left, Kagome glanced up at the moon. It rested high in the heavens, regal and serene as it illuminated Kagome's path to a nearby pond. The water would be cold this time of year, but Kagome welcomed it, as she needed to cool off from some unwelcome heat that pooled in her womb at the thought of cerulean eyes gazing upon her.

Little did she know, they actually were.

* * *

 **Updated: December 31, 2018**


	8. His Instincts

"What is this?" Kouga muttered, lunging towards the silver serpent that floated its way through the trees.

It slithered in the air, changing directions with a fluid motion, narrowly missing Kouga's claws. Kouga grunted, frustrated. He hated snakes as much as the next wolf, yet he had never seen a creature like this before… an ethereal, serpentine demon that carried something with a similar aura to the Shikon jewel.

Kouga lunged at it again, this time borrowing speed from his fragments. The increase in speed made the air feel thicker, almost like water, as his senses took everything in in slow motion. He felt his hand make contact as his muscles flexed in carnivorous victory, a fanged grin spreading across his face.

An explosion of white light enveloped them, blinding the wolf momentarily. Bleary stars flitted across his night vision as he looked down at the creature in his grasp. The serpent screeched before falling prey to his clutches, but instead of bloody flesh flowing between his fingers, Kouga found that the creature just… evaporated.

The glowing ball it had been carrying started to rise, guided by the gentle breeze towards the night-veiled heavens. Kouga leapt at it, grasping the object with a clawed flick of his wrist.

It felt gooey, like the slime off of an amphibian demon, yet solid like those… those… _'What were they called? Those things the humans eat…'_ Kouga thought for a moment before recalling, _'dumplings!'_

Out of curiosity, he squished it between his fingers.

"Ah!" Kouga winced slightly as a jolt of purification burned his palm. He released the wretched orb and continued to watch it glide through the forest. It was headed in the same direction he was, and judging by the half-baked hanyou scent he was following, he couldn't be far now. Perhaps the orb had something to do with the green-clad miko he was searching for.

Kouga's lithe form emerged from a line of foliage to stand in a small clearing. A halo of trees protected the glade below, and moonlight trickled past their wooden limbs in flits of glimmering radiance. Each wisp of silvery light that fell upon Kouga's golden skin burned white hot, searing him with power; his yoki flowed just below the surface, coursing through his muscles in tides of demonic power, thrashing against every fiber in his body to be released and reveal his true form in the wake of the rising moon – yet he fought against it.

Like hell he wanted to run at full speed as a wolf under the watchful eye of the moon, but his wolves were far behind him – left in the dust of his speedy cyclone – and now he had to move slowly. Kouga could sense the overpowering aura of the half-breed mutt from miles away – let alone smell the mangy hanyou, but it was only as Kouga crept closer to the group's camp that he could – just barely – detect her power tickling his nose.

She smelled of freshly crushed juniper and a gentle bank of moss, dashed with the zesty taste of shaven clove and a hint of white amber; undertones of a velvety sweetness caressed her scent, almost like honey or the sap of trees… yet the pointed saccharinity of her purification powers spiked her aroma and made Kouga's hair stand on end.

The miko was upset.

Kouga smirked. Perhaps she didn't lead the group like he assumed, or maybe the hanyou challenged her authority as alpha. Either way, a part of Kouga hoped to find the dog purified to a pulp. It would save him some trouble, after all.

The thought of facing that sword again spread gooseflesh across his body. A slight shiver trembled his limbs with adrenaline as the memory of its power washed over him. Kouga could practically feel the overgrown fang slice into his heart like the jaws of a great demon clamping down on his torso; his chest plate, he knew, would do nothing in the way of protection against such a blade.

Kouga shook his head, disgusted with his own weakness. Kouga, the great wolf prince, tribal leader of the East – whimpering at the mere thought of a sword in a hanyou's blunt claws. He would just have to snatch the girl before the situation came to that – before Kouga, once more, would have to turn tail to save his own hide.

Kouga didn't like acknowledging that a hanyou was an admirable foe for him, but it did make him wonder what demon lineage the mutt sprung from like a persistent and rather annoying flea. Whose fang was the sword thrust from? Whoever the mutt was, he agitated Kouga to no end. It was like his instincts were telling him that anything involving the hanyou was bad news.

The earth pulsed under Kouga's feet, beckoning him to join nature on all fours under the guide of the full moon. The intensity of the call raised his hackles; his ponytail began to drift in the air, such was the force of the battle between Kouga's demonic aura and the moon's pull. It felt unnatural to be in his humanoid form on such a night, but duty called, and if he wanted to remain alpha wolf, he would suffer one full moon in this form. Stretching his arms above his head, Kouga was about to lurch into a sprint when he heard the crackle of dirt being ground under footsteps.

Senses snapping to attention on his left, he noticed a waft of juniper and… that was it. No dog shit.

Raising a brow, Kouga padded his way towards her scent, pausing when he caught a glimpse of her through the tree line. She was definitely alone. The miko was carrying an odd bag, one he'd never seen the likes of before, and her sandals made a distinct 'smack!' with every step she took. For carrying around a bow and arrow, the girl seemed to have no idea about tactical wear. On top of that, her face was scrunched up in a look of confusion. Her guard was completely down – he could tell by her flushed face and the way her hand cupped her cheek dreamily.

This was his chance. He was about to take this fleeting moment of opportunity when the miko looked up at the moon and he saw something there – in her eyes – as they glinted in homage to the moon. In them he saw a flash of something ancient – familiar, even – and his instincts immediately were drawn to that innate connection.

 _'What the hell?_ ' Kouga thought, smirking to himself. Every muscle in his body quavered with his yoki, as if he were about to turn into a wolf. He looked to the girl again and understood that whatever the hell he saw in her was causing this; his yoki wanted to be familiar with her presence.

Kouga was startled. _'She's just a human! How can she cause what only the moon brings on?'_ Yet his instincts never ran him wrong.

Catching one last glimpse of her before closing his eyes, Kouga crouched and let the feeling of the earth beneath him take over, holding back just enough to suppress his truest form. His claws dug into the ground, raking dirt and grass into his paws as he flexed his smaller wolf form.

Kouga gave a fanged grimace. _'It's been a while,'_ he noted as his body felt fatigue from lack of use. The wolf demon had to bite back a howl to the heavens.

The wind rustled his fur softly, much like the breeze caressing tall grass in the open fields of his territory. Yet somehow he longed for more than just a run in the grasslands and the feeling of wind through his mane… that instead of the air, it was a small hand combing fingers through his fur, and a warm lap cradling his head as he basked in the scent of honey and clove. That instead of grass tickling his nose during a late night run, long black hair kissed his face in a relaxing embrace.

The dark brown wolf stood deathly still for a moment, wondering just how and where this cascade of thoughts and emotions came from. They seemed so real, so… nostalgic. And yet, he had never seen her until a few days prior, he was sure. Human or not, a girl like her has a way of sticking out in a man's memory.

Perhaps this was the jewel shards in his arm and legs calling out for the one who sought them?

Kouga shook his head, a ripple going down his whole body.

The girl, this… woman, he didn't know her name or even where she came from, but Kouga needed to know her. Human or not, she would be his. She had to be; his instincts drove him to her so intensely that it felt like he couldn't keep up.

In the blink of an eye, it wasn't about the jewel anymore. It was about her… her, and the strange power she held over him.

* * *

 **Updated: January 1, 2019**


	9. The Wolf

He lifted his muzzle and looked up the heavens, seeking guidance from his ancestral spirit. She should be close; the aroma of juniper overwhelmed the area, and yet, he couldn't pinpoint the source. It's like she vanished.

 _'Can she cloak her presence?'_ Kouga felt a rumble in the back of his throat. He had no idea what particular powers mikos wielded; frankly, he avoided holy mortals like he avoided rotten meat, because – well – that's what they tasted like. That, and they were a bitch to kill at a considerably greater risk.

 _'Yet why does she seem so irresistible?'_ Kouga padded at the ground aimlessly, glinting a back fang in a wolfish smirk.

 _'She can't have gone far,'_ he thought. _'She is – I think – just a regular human with a little holy power.'_ His eyes narrowed.

Humans.

He swore to never become like the Lords of the Western Lands. Humans and demons – they don't mix. Not without a lot of bloodshed…

 _'No,'_ Kouga reasoned, _'She's the key to defeating the birds of paradise. My people are dying needlessly as prey to those overgrown turkeys.'_ Still, the idea of depending on a human to save his tribe didn't sit well, either.

The moon was waning, but he had just enough time to get back to his mountains and do a strike on the demon birds' lair. The full moon could give him that extra boost of power…

But it was risky, putting it lightly. Still, it was worth a shot, and to Kouga, it seemed just as risky as putting any faith in a human. A human miko at that.

He took a deep breath, inhaling her lovely perfume that fragranced the air.

 _'Just where is that little vixen, anyways?'_ Kouga wondered. His inner wolf hungered for her, whether as prey or as something else entirely, it was unclear.

A soft hum twinkled in the breeze, making Kouga's ears twitch. He recognized the balmy sound of song purring in a woman's throat. The melody was hauntingly beautiful, almost like mourning, and the vibrato in her singing told Kouga that she was crying.

 _'Amazing,'_ Kouga smirked, recalling their first encounter, _'She's got such a fiery yell for having such a gentle voice.'_

He followed the music until he came across a shallow pond. Moss surrounded the water like green clouds, and the objects she had been carrying lay sprawled amongst them.

No wonder he couldn't find her before. She was bathing. Kouga was a little surprised; winter felt crisp in the midnight air, and the water was surely too cold for a human woman to tolerate, particularly for one with as little meat on her as the miko. It would do him no good if she got sick and died on him before she could fulfill her part of his plans.

Kouga huffed, but it came out sounding like a gruff bark.

A splash sounded loudly from behind a large rock, followed by some flailing and then almost deathly silence.

"Who's there?" she yelped after a moment. More splashing accompanied her voice. "I swear, if I catch any peeping toms, I will make sure you sleep on rock-filled bedding until we kill Naraku!"

Kouga's eyes rose. _'What is a 'peeping tom'? Who is this Naraku person?'_ Somehow, he didn't get the impression that she was a killer when they first crossed paths.

His inner wolf growled with joy. She just became a mightier prize in the wolf's cerulean gaze.

"I mean it!" She yelled. "Ohhhhh- just because you don't say anything doesn't mean I can't sense you! Sit! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!"

 _'What a weird human,'_ Kouga observed. He didn't eat crazy humans either because their sickness could spread through their meat. Not that she had much meat to begin with, but…

There was silence for a drawn out minute, but Kouga could hear her heart rate quicken as fear crept into her. Her bow and arrow were amongst her bathing supplies, and he assumed she had no other weapon to fend him off with.

Quietly, he padded towards the rock, skirting the edge slowly until he reached the side where she stood wearily. Apparently she had not noticed him, because she stood rather dumbly as she shivered, clutching her arms to hide her supple breasts from whoever was near. Her long raven locks clung to her curvaceous body, shining in the moonlight like obsidian as she trembled from the cold, and her milky skin glowed even in the murky depths of the water, which rest just below her hip.

And oh, her hips – they were fleshed with muscle and the faintest cushion of fat, yet slender enough that her hipbones gently lead to her…

Kouga licked his lips, noticing the wetness that claimed his mouth as he drooled at the thought of what hid beneath the water.

Apparently that caught her attention, because she whipped around at a speed Kouga was impressed with – for a human, anyways. He expected to see her face fill with fear or disgust or maybe a combination of the two – generally, that's how it went when humans saw his wolf form – yet she just stood there, just as dumbly as before.

He never cared to look closely at her face until now, but perhaps that's because she was now looking closely at him. Her eyes were a crystal blue, cool and glassy, yet they gave the impression of softness despite resembling a crystalline gem. And her lips: rouged, plump and partially open – perhaps from shock – seemed just as glossy as her eyes, as if coated with honey.

"Nice… doggy," she said, raising her arms up in a calming gesture, ignoring the fact that this exposed her breasts completely. "Nice… very big doggy…" Her eyes darted around, as if looking for someone or something.

He growled. Like hell he was a fucking dog. His yoki spiked in anger. He took a step forward, and she did not miss the action.

Her eyes widened in understanding, and suddenly her demeanor shifted.

"You're a demon, aren't you?" she said, not really questioning but more so stating the obvious. He hadn't thought it so obvious, though, and was surprised that she had guessed as much.

"And not just any demon," she continued, crossing her arms over her chest to once again cover those luscious mounds.

He froze. _'She couldn't possibly know my demon form, could she?'_ Kouga suddenly felt weary of the girl before him.

"You can understand me," she muttered, looking him over with a preening gaze, "you're not some low-level yokai, so don't go skulking around like one."

Kouga's first instinct was to tuck his tail between his legs from shame, yet the alpha in him roared at being compared to his fledgling canine wolves.

"Considering you haven't eaten me," Kagome said, raising a brow at his wolf form, "I'd like to get dressed before I catch a bug."

 _'Catch a bug?'_ Kouga wondered, staring at her in bafflement. He'd never been talked down to like this before, yet somehow it wasn't insulting coming from her. It was like his inner wolf respected her fiery, damn-near fighting words. _'What the hell?'_

A sharp movement from the girl caught his attention. "Any day now?" she muttered, making a circling motion with her hand.

Kouga snorted. He didn't think this human had any modesty with how she dressed normally. Apparently, he was wrong.

He watched her eyebrow twitch with annoyance, but he eventually complied with her request. Taking her back to the den naked would pose more problems for him, anyways. His inner wolf growled at the thought of his men seeing his woman in such a delicate state.

Kouga quirked. _'My woman…?'_ He liked the sound of that.

"What are you grrrrrr-ing about so much?" She asked in mild aggravation.

He swung his head to look at her and immediately regretted doing so. She was bending down, pulling up some sort of white cloth over her bottom, and the way the fabric stretched over her plush curves to accommodate her shapeliness…

Kouga looked away, disconcerted for feeling attracted to a humanoid creature in his wolf form when she was not his mate. It was… unnatural.

"And no peeping!" She called – a little too late – before adding, "Just because I can't 'sit' you doesn't mean I can't shock you." To illustrate her point, she let her power wash over his yoki.

His hair stood on end as an unpleasant prickling sensation stabbed its way down his spine. He let out a sharp bark of anger.

 _'How dare she use her powers on me!'_ he mentally roared. His yoki started to surge to the surface, his body tingling with unadulterated power as it started to shift into his bigger, true form.

"I don't think so," Kagome said from behind him. Kouga felt something sharp press into the back of his neck. An arrow, he presumed. Kouga's ears pressed back and his muzzle pulled into a feral snarl.

"If this is about getting the jewel shards, I will protect them with my life," she said fiercely, pressing the arrow harder into his flesh. "Don't think I didn't sense them the moment I laid eyes on you."

The arrow dug into his neck enough to break the skin. Kouga could smell his blood in the air. A low, savage growl reverberated in the back of his throat.

"I didn't purify you because, somehow, after killing all those innocent people, your jewel shards are still pure," Kagome continued, a look of mild confusion crossing her face. "But don't get me wrong, you will pay for what you did to those people."

Kouga stood there motionlessly, marveling at what she was saying. _'My shards… pure?'_ he thought in wonder, _'that's impossible! All the blood I've shed with their power…'_ A flash of his brother's cruel face flitted across Kouga's mind.

"What I want to know is: why?" She said mildly, her thoughts taking over the forefront of her consciousness.

Just then, the rustling of leaves could be heard on the shoreline, followed by a quiet voice. "Mama, why do I smell blood?"

Kagome froze at the sound of Shippo's innocent voice calling to her. The wolf demon under her arrow perked up at the kit's arrival, an easy target for him to be sure. Kagome's hand trembled in fear for her child; this was no ordinary demon she held precariously captive.

"Mama, are you alright?" Shippo called again. The moss squished intermittently under his light footsteps as he ventured towards her bathing supplies.

 _'Did the kit just call her… mama?'_ Kouga was caught off guard, stiffening at the thought that a human miko could take a demon under her wing as her own.

"Shippo, I need you to go back to the camp," Kagome called to him, an almost pleading tone in her words.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, a naïve concern for his adoptive mother taking root in his tummy.

Kagome's stomach knotted. "Nothing! I'm fine! I just realized that the ramen was never taken off the fire."

"Sango already did that." Shippo continued, "I came to tell you dinner was ready."

"That's great!" Kagome forced a light laugh, and she cringed when the sound grated her ears. She hoped Shippo didn't notice. "You go ahead and eat while it's hot. I'm almost done here." The wolf shifted below her. Kagome focused some of her spiritual energy into the arrow-tip, taking note of the slight smell of burning fur.

"Ok…" Shippo said. He didn't sound like he fully believed her, but the telltale squish of moss and mud under his paws signaled that he was leaving. Shippo paused. "Oh, and mama, about Inuyasha…"

Shippo didn't have time to finish as the wolf demon sprinted from under Kagome, yelping slightly at the feeling of the arrow scraping it way down his back, and went after the little kit. It felt like wildfire exploding his cells, spreading across his skin as the jolt of purification shocked his entire body. Kouga winced at the pain trailing down his spine, but he bore through it as his jaws clamped down on the simple kimono the kit wore and spirited the demon child away into the woods. Kagome had her bow and arrow trained on the wolf the whole time, but Kouga knew she couldn't send the arrow flying without risking purifying the kit.

In the distance, the demon pair could hear her cry of agony, "SHIPPOOOO!"

And then they were gone from her completely, swallowed by the darkness of night.

* * *

 **Updated: January 1, 2019**


	10. First Whiff

The little runt just wouldn't stop screaming. The kit's bloodcurdling cries were agonizing shockwaves to Kouga's sensitive ears. He winced as the screams echoed off the mountain peaks, reverberating down and out around them like a homing beacon for the Birds of Paradise to hone in on. It didn't matter if it was night and the Birds of Paradise were blinded from a lack of night vision, a mere human could track them down with how loud they were being.

Kouga growled in frustration, tossing the kit to the side of a cliff as he shifted back into his humanoid form. "Will you shut it already?" Kouga asked with a preening glare, towering over the fox in a predatory stance. "You're going to get us killed."

Shippo wailed, "Aren't you going to do that anyways? Wolves eat foxes!"

Kouga felt a rumble in his throat as a satisfied laugh escaped him. He put a fist on his hip as the cowering child before him bolstered his ego, each whimper a balm to Kouga's anger as he was reminded just how superior of a demon he was. "That's right, kid, but I need you for something else. Besides, a runt like you doesn't have enough meat on him for a midday snack."

Shippo sniffled, rubbing a little paw over his face as the sleeve of his haori soaked up the welling tears in his eyes. He scrunched his eyes shut to will the rest of his tears away, his nose twitching slightly in an effort to hide his fear. He needed to be strong. _'For mama…'_

Mama.

Shippo's gaze went wide as he stared up at the wolf demon with glittering, emerald orbs. "You want to get to mama," he stated simply.

It'd happened often enough – Shippo being captured to lure out Kagome and subsequently Inuyasha – but the kit didn't think wolf demons would ever think that far ahead; wolves usually just conquered, pillaged and ate, in that order. That was their life: straightforward.

Kouga smirked at the kid, slightly impressed with the kit's acuity at such an early age. That was a kitsune for you: cunning, sly and a hell of a lot of trouble. "Quit calling her that. She ain't your mama."

Shippo jumped up, tiny claws biting into his palms as his hands balled into tight fists. Kouga smelled the blood and quirked a thick eyebrow.

"Take that back!" Shippo yelled, the sound carrying across the mountain.

"Take what back?" Koga mused, "That she ain't your mama? Hate to break it to you kid, but she isn't. She's a human."

Shippo looked down quietly, scuffing the dirt with his foot as his lip trembled. "I… I know that."

Kouga was truly curious about the kit and miko's relationship – it'd never been seen before, not in all of Kouga's long years. All the holy humans he'd encountered slaughtered demons indiscriminately; adult, child, harmless or lethal, it didn't matter to them. A demon was a demon, simple as that.

But this miko… she was an enigma, one Kouga couldn't help but try to unfurl.

"Then what's the big deal, kid?" Kouga asked sarcastically, secretly prying for more information about his mysterious woman.

Forgetting about instincts of survival as his emotions got the best of him, Shippo glared at the wolfish smile on the demon's face. "She saved me," he simply stated, not wanting to recount that tale of the Thunder Brothers. Shippo's chest tightened at the memory.

"What?" Kouga laughed heartily, grabbing his midsection as though he were about to keel over. He let on a fanged grin, the edges of his mouth curled cruelly. "Did she kill your parents and feel bad about leaving an orphan behind?"

"No!" Shippo cried, tears burning down his cheeks in hot streams. "Mama, a-and Inuyasha – they saved me from the Thunder Brothers, the demons that killed my papa!"

"Thunder Brothers? Never heard of 'em."

Shippo's lip pursed. "Of course not! You just stay in the mountains and guard them ruthlessly!" His voice soured in a way that caught Kouga by surprise. The runt seemed pretty mild-tempered, if not a little whiny, but certainly not bitter.

"So you've heard of us," Kouga said contentedly. Good, it was about time the yokai world acknowledged the wolf tribes for their fearsome warriors.

Shippo's blood boiled at the satisfaction rolling off the wolf demon in waves, each swell of the yokai's ego a slap to the kit's face. "Of course I have," Shippo said dryly, "your kind devoured my mama."

Kouga's eyebrows knit in confusion. "I left your mama in one piece." His mind flitted back to her voluptuous body and all the delectable things he wanted to do to it. _'For now.'_

"My real mama!" Shippo hissed, before turning quiet, "Kagome is… my mama now."

Kouga fell silent, but what caught his attention weren't the sorrowful sniffles emanating from the kit; it was the wistful word that escaped his little mouth.

Kagome.

 _'What an odd name,'_ Kouga thought. He'd never heard anything like it before.

"So… her name is Kagome."

Shippo squeaked, surprised at hearing the wolf say her name. His heart thumped in his chest wildly, and his muscles twitched with the desire run and go warn someone, anyone that could protect Kagome. The way this wolf demon said her name, savoring every syllable and practically salivating at the taste, it sent an icy shiver down Shippo's spine.

 _'I'm not strong enough to defeat him,'_ Shippo mourned mentally. _'Why don't I have what it takes to fight like my friends do?'_

The kitsune swallowed a large gulp of air to quell the fear threatening to purr in his throat. He couldn't lose his mama… not again.

 _'I gotta keep it together! He's just a dumb wolf,'_ Shippo thought quietly, hardening his resolve.

"My mama is a strong miko," Shippo said timidly, looking up at the wolf with a contrastingly stern gaze, "she can purify you like it's nothing!"

Kouga's eyes glinted dangerously. "Strong?" He laughed once more, the sound crashing around the mountain with deafening roar, "Not when she has a weakness like you, runt. She can't do anything with you in my grasp!"

Shippo faltered for a moment, knowing what the wolf said was true. "Th-then Inuyasha! He doesn't care about me, but he'll protect her!"

Kouga quirked, rolling his hip so his weight shifted to the side where his fist was still firmly planted. "So that's the mutt's name, huh? Good. I'd like to know the name of such a worthy kill – makes the story more memorable when I tell the rest of my pack over a nice turkey feast." He cracked his knuckles at the thought of it.

Shippo's mouth fell open at the bold declarations coming from the wolf. _'Inuyasha's found his match when it comes to hardheadedness.'_

"And then," Kouga added as a luscious afterthought, the caveat to his plan, "I'll have his miko." Inside, Kouga's yoki spiked at the thought of Kagome being in the claws of another demon, her lips parted towards them in terror or bliss, crying from agony or ecstasy… He bit down on his bottom lip with a fang, enticing a droplet of blood to emerge from the rouged skin.

"You won't!" Shippo screamed, abandoning self-preservation completely by pouncing at the wolf. He scratched at Kouga's legs with his little claws, shredding some of the fur adorning Kouga's calves. Some more blood was drawn, though Kouga barely felt it. "Mama belongs to Inuyasha!" he screeched shrilly.

Kouga smirked. Grabbing the kit by his absurdly puffy tail, Kouga held him at eye-level and at arm's length. "Well then, I'll just have to kill him, won't I? Then there won't be much competition anymore."

 _'Yeah, right,'_ Shippo thought, _'you ran with your tail between your legs at the first whiff of danger!'_

And then there it was, the first whiff of danger. It came from above, below, everywhere. The air carried the distinct smell of bird and death, the dusty decay of bones and feathers blowing in the wind. It came like a fog; the heavy miasma nearly suffocated Shippo as he clung to the wolf, favoring a familiar danger over the overwhelming promise of death.

"I smell wolf!" a shrieking voice boomed amongst the mountain peaks.

"Wh-what is that?" Shippo asked quietly, scarcely louder than a breath. His whole body quivered in terror, like a leaf in the face of a mighty storm.

"I can tell you one thing," Kouga muttered, peering around at the hidden evil with a narrowed gaze, "It ain't no turkey dinner."

Kouga leapt from the cliff-side they'd been standing on with all the strength in his legs, and Shippo heard a deafening crash into the stone just beneath them, followed by harrowing gales and showers of rock.

There was a bloodthirsty cry as the Birds of Paradise followed the faint scent of the wolf blood across the mountain peaks.

The hunt was on.

* * *

 **Updated: January 1, 2019**


	11. The Pursuit

Kagome crashed into the camp, a panicked expression over her rouged face, eyes wild in search of something or someone.

Sango and Miroku paused what they were doing – polishing Hiraikotsu and nursing a slapped cheek, respectively – as they were caught off-guard by their friend's sudden and ragged appearance. They stared at her with wide gazes, taking in Kagome's unusually aggressive demeanor as she rushed forward. The pads of Kagome's feet were raw and cracked from not wearing shoes, her flip-flops forgotten at the pond along with her bathing supplies.

Her bow and arrow, however, were strongly in her grasp.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango sprung up, hurrying over to her dearest friend. She tentatively put a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to supply comfort to the obviously distraught miko.

Kagome licked her lips with the flit of her nervous tongue, a bead of sweat trickling down her face despite the chill of winter in the air. She looked at Sango with crystalline orbs the size of the moon, fresh tears welling on her lower lashes. She didn't find who she was looking for.

Shippo…

"We need to go," Kagome said quickly, running to her over-sized yellow bag. She heaved the backpack over her shoulder, ignoring the twinge of her right rotator cuff as she did so.

"What do you mean?" Sango asked softly, trying to lower the overwhelming emotion rolling off of Kagome. "Where?"

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, the first shiver since adrenaline kicked in working its way down her body. "He took Shippo," Kagome murmured frantically, scanning the camp for Kilala.

Miroku perked up at this, his eyebrows knitting together as he stood with staff in hand. "Who did?"

"The wolf yokai from earlier!" Kagome wailed, arms flailing in frustration.

"What?" Sango gasped, remembering the bloodlust that clouded the wolf yokai in a shroud of evil. She closed her eyes, shaking the dreadful thought bubbling to the surface, not wanting to conclude the worst.

"How did this happen?" Miroku echoed Sango's sentiment, confusion and worry mixing in with his words.

"He's hurt," Kagome said abruptly, "he can't be far." She dipped to grab the water canteen resting near the fire, planning to douse the flames with its contents. In her haste, Kagome accidentally kicked a bowl of ramen that sat next to it, and she looked down at the forgotten dish mournfully. The plastic bowl with cartoons on the side, _'it's Shippo's…'_ Kagome held back from crying, her pain hardening her resolve to get her little kitsune back.

Miroku frowned, sensing the sorrow coming from his miko friend in waves. "Shippo is injured?"

"Not Shippo," Kagome muttered darkly. But if he is when I find him… her power swirled around her like an acid whip, glowing a bright pink as her eyes lit up with retribution.

Sango nodded sagely. "Wolf demons move fast, but his blood should leave a scent trail."

Kagome spotted the fire-cat standing alert at the tree line, and her speed picked up as she ran towards the feline. "Kilala!" she cried. The kitten nodded in understanding as she grew into a fearsome yokai.

Kagome jumped on Kilala's back, slinging her bow and backpack behind her with enough momentum that she nearly slipped off. Kagome didn't hesitate. "Now!" she yelled in fiery resolve, desperation only a faint echo in her command.

"Kagome, wait!" Sango called after her friend, chasing after them as the fire-cat took off into the night.

"We must hurry," Miroku said gently behind his lovely companion. From where he stood, her lovely rear shone in the firelight as she bent over to pick up Hiraikotsu, the tight fabric of her taijiya outfit stretching to accommodate her shapely muscles.

"Nn," Sango grunted in agreement, slinging her giant boomerang over her shoulder. There was a twinge of guilt in her stomach at the thought of leaving Inuyasha behind, but the feeling quickly soured when she recalled all the times he'd been absent since Kikyo's resurrection. _'He's not here, he can deal with it. Shippo needs us.'_

Glancing over at the handsome monk beside her, a faint blush spread across her cheeks. Sango murmured, "Let's go!"

Heading off into the forest to find their friends, Sango barely realized that she'd grabbed Miroku's hand as they faded into the darkness. A tender squeeze gave them the strength to believe that everything would be all right... and that things would go back to the way they once were: simple, and together again.

* * *

 **Updated: January 2, 2019**


	12. The Enemy

"Kilala!" Kagome roared over the gale blowing past them. The fire-cat's ears perked at the sound of her voice, and the giant feline bowed her head to scan the mountain peaks below.

"I can sense them!" Kagome screamed, "the jewel shards!" Kagome shifted her weight, letting go of Kilala's fur with one hand to point to the east – or what she thought was the east, anyways. Her sense of direction was lost to the nerves eating away at her, and a heavy mist permeated the air like miasma. Kagome could detect a subtle demonic aura coming from the mountain range, and a shiver ran up her spine despite the hot humidity of the night. An ominous feeling loomed in the back of her senses, one that caused Kagome to purse her full lips into a grim line.

Kagome pressed up against the fire-cat until her breasts were squished between the yokai's shoulder blades, flattening herself to avoid the wind's resistance as she held on for dear life. Her fingers were growing numb from her death grip, the white knuckles fisting Kilala's fur trembling in fear at the thought of falling off.

The craggy mountains below were jagged and sharp, and rocks glinted in the moonlight as if the mountains were leering at her. Even from these heights, the dotting of bones across the mountains' surfaces glared a stark white, almost like the stars that still faceted the night sky; the crushed and discarded skeletons of fallen prey… they were like constellations as they led Kagome and Kilala into the territory of a fearsome predator.

Kagome's eyes narrowed, squinting off into the shadowed horizon as she sensed the faint aura of the Shikon no Tama. Because the shards the wolf demon possessed were still pure, the pink glow of the jewel was like a beacon in the darkness of night.

 _'I'm coming, Shippo!'_ Kagome thought fiercely. _'Mama's coming!'_

Her stomach clenched, the pervading feeling that she'd failed to protect her child rearing a fury inside her. She had let the wolf distract her; the fascination she felt for the demon was intrinsic, and her selfish curiosity revealed just how inadequate she was as a mother and as a protector.

If something happened to Shippo, she could only blame herself for being incompetent.

A frown crossed her features as she sensed the shards moving across the landscape; they had been stationary on the horizon ever since she could spot them, but now they moved with a ferocious speed… towards them.

Kagome braced herself. "Kilala! There!" She pointed to a rugged cliff that hugged the boundaries of where the woodlands and mountains met. It overhung the edge of the forest canopy in a sharp drop, plummeting into a steep slope that gave little in the way of purchase should one fall.

With her human eyes, Kagome could just barely make out the auburn of Shippo's delicate hair as he was carried by the wolf demon. Kagome scowled when she saw that the wolf had her kit by the tail; his little body dangled behind the dark yokai, flailing with each jostling movement.

The wolf was back in his humanoid form, and his sun-kissed skin glimmered gold in the moonlight. Even from where she was, Kagome could see the bright red gash that ran up the yokai's back, which still faintly glowed from the searing aftereffects of her spiritual power. Her heart clenched seeing the damage she'd caused him, but then she remembered that he kidnapped her son – who, she knew, was probably crying from the ordeal despite appearing mostly unscathed.

Kagome breathed an internal sigh of relief at that thought, one she nearly choked on when she watched the wolf yokai leap from a ledge to the cliff several impossible meters away, his long ponytail whipping behind him.

 _'Oh Kami!'_ Kagome screeched mentally, praying to whatever deity was listening. _'They won't make it!'_

With a mortified shriek, Kagome screamed, "SHIPPO!"

The wolf yokai froze mid-leap at the sound of the miko's voice in the wind, teetering on the cliff as he turned to face the human he sought. She was riding the fire-cat with the countenance of a veteran warlord, her eyes locking on his with a viciousness that made his yoki quiver as she pointed towards them.

"Mama!" Shippo wailed, thrashing in Kouga's grasp and ignoring the pain it caused his tail. In a cheap attempt to escape the wolf's clutches while he was distracted, the kit used his foxfire on Kouga's obsidian mane.

Surprised by the sudden although admittedly weak flames, Kouga dropped the kit, and Kagome's heart stopped, frozen in time as terror gripped her: her precious son was plummeting from the cliff, heading straight for the hardened crust of the earth.

Kagome's devastating cry pierced the heavens and Kilala roared, the neko's flames growing with a sudden burst of speed as she dove from the sky to catch Shippo. The little fox had lost all sense, forgetting he could transform into a floating blob, and he closed his eyes as he waited for impact on the rocks below; he held his breath, as if he were about to jump into water, and a single tear made its way up his face as he fell.

Kagome reached for him with both hands, straddling Kilala with every muscle in her trembling legs. She quivered like the twang of a bowstring, taught and thrumming with power as she snagged Shippo into a steely grip. Her tresses surrounded him in a shroud as her forehead pressed to his, her arms holding him to her in a vice-like embrace, and she shook violently as sobs of relief wracked through her body. Tears streamed down her face and dripped onto his.

"Oh, Shippo," Kagome cried into his hair, stroking his tousled locks gently. He had been silent from shock, but as soon as his name escaped her lips, Shippo began to wail, desperately clinging to her breast as he nuzzled into her.

The young miko smiled gently, whispering to him softly. "Shhhhh," Kagome soothed, "I'm here. Mama's got you."

"Mama!" Shippo whimpered, sniffling.

"Yes, Shippo," she cooed. "I'm here…"

"I was so scared!" His little claws dug into her skin, drawing blood from the red crescents now marring her flesh, but neither noticed… Kouga, however, did.

The wolf's eyes darted to the miko's breasts, the tops of those luscious, milky mounds bare for him to see thanks to the plunging neckline of her green attire. The red half-moons that puckered at her breasts were a startling contrast to her creamy skin, which glistened softly in the moonlight from the sweat of exertion. Her chest heaved as she cried, and a slight jiggle was detectable in her bosom as the fire-cat tossed back up into the air to reach the precipice where he stood.

This divine creature he sought so fervently - the miko that rode into the night like a hellion - looked at him then, and her gaze pierced through him like a sword drove through his flesh. His breath caught in his throat as he was overwhelmed by her holy aura, his yoki shuddering in excitement as it rose to meet her power.

 _'She is… breathtaking…'_ Kouga's tongue flitted across his canine fangs, savoring the idea of what her flesh would taste like. He had never had such a pure creature before, and the scent of her blood was thoroughly intoxicating. Kouga stifled a groan, the noise of pleasure instead coming out as a low purr in his throat.

Kilala hissed, noticing the scent of arousal that emanated off their enemy. Kouga flashed the neko a wolfish grin.

He turned a fevered, half-lidded gaze to the miko of his fantasies, cerulean eyes taking in her flushed and unruly appearance. He imagined this is what she would look like after being ravished, sans the look of hostility that blazed in her glare. That fire further stoked his burning need for her; his inner beast snarled with delight at the prospect of making her submit to him in every way: mind, body and soul.

And judging by the power radiating off of her, she had a mighty large soul.

A yip from the kit made Kouga frown. The fox was shooting him an accusatory glare, recognizing the spicy scent coming from the wolf; it was the same scent Kagome had when Inuyasha did something nice for her for a change. Shippo curled closer to his surrogate mother, trying his best to protect her from the wolf's roaming eyes by shielding her with his body. It did little good, aside from aggravating Kouga.

Mistaking Shippo's protection as fear, Kagome's anger rose. "What did you plan on doing with Shippo?" Kagome growled fiercely, a sound that would make any canine yokai proud.

"Nothing, really," Kouga drawled, flitting his wrist casually. "The runt was a means to an end."

Kagome's gaze narrowed. "And what would that be?"

The wolf prince flashed her a lascivious smirk. "You."

Her mouth parted, not entirely surprised by his words, since he clearly sought the Shikon no Tama; she was, however, caught off-guard by the double meaning that coated them like silken honey. And what's more, the heat that pooled into the pit of her stomach churned an excited knot that formed there – tight and anxious, filled with a sudden ache.

Kouga was pleased by her response to him, his confident smile revealing pearly fangs. He felt her draw to them, and he quickly bit into his bottom lip, tantalizingly merciless as his blood rouged his mouth.

An almost feral delight shuddered through her, rendering a gasp to escape through her own rosy lips.

Shippo pawed at Kagome, trying to release her from whatever trance the wolf captivated her with. "Mama!" he beckoned, trying to get her attention once more. When he didn't succeed, he turned to the intimidating male before them. "You'll never have her! She belongs to Inuyasha!"

The hanyou's name snapped Kagome from her overwhelming desire, and she looked down at her son, who was still cradled in her arms. Patting his head gently, she slid him from her grasp to rest on Kilala's broad shoulders. Kagome dropped to the ground, her feet planting firmly on the rock as she faced the enigma that was her enemy.

"Now, now, Shippo," she murmured, "I belong to no man." Kagome whipped her bow out then, an arrow readily notched in a single, fluid movement. "… Or yokai," she added, staring down the shaft of her arrow.

Kouga raised a brow at her. _'The miko can't possibly hope to hit me, the fastest amongst my brethren?'_

It was clear to him, after a moment, that she did intend to pierce him with her arrow. Her aim was steady and clear, trained right on his heart. Kouga's chest clenched with a sudden pain, and he looked down – half expecting an arrow to be embedded in his flesh, yet there was nothing. No blood, no wound…

 _'What has she done to me?'_ he thought wildly.

"What is your name?" Kagome called to him, a stirring of regret rushing through her. _'This man… this yokai… why do I feel for him, when I don't even know him?'_

Kagome's brows knit together in confusion when he looked up at her with pained eyes, his cerulean orbs swimming with… _'betrayal?'_

"What's it to you, little miko?" he asked, a grunt escaping him as he winced.

Kagome frowned. She sure as kami couldn't reveal the truth, so she simply stated, "I want to know the identity of my adversary. Names are binding, and I want to remember this." To expound her point, Kagome pulled the arrow taught, the bow practically thrumming with visceral and spiritual power.

Kouga laughed, taking on a fighting stance. If it was a fight she wanted, it was a fight she would get, plans be damned. His inner beast was going to enjoy making her submit to his strength. He rumbled, "You think you can hit me with that, at such close range?"

Suddenly the wolf was right in front of her, arrow tip scraping against his chest plate. A clawed hand eased her weapon to the side, and suddenly he was holding her, his muscled arms enveloping her. His yoki surged around her, stifling her miko power before it could emerge.

Kagome melted at the feel of his yoki caressing her, drawing a delicate gasp from her as her eyes fluttered dreamily. His aura was like Novocain… she felt numb to the world, to her struggles and her responsibilities. She felt… safe, in his arms – the arms of the enemy.

Sighing at the feel of her in his arms, he purred into her ear with a balmy breath. "I am Kouga, prince of the wolf yokai and leader of the eastern tribes." His tongue flicked out to trace the shell of her ear, and a throaty moan reverberated within her.

Kagome looked up at him then, desire glistening in her sapphire depths. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Who are you?"

He frowned. "I just told you. Did you hit your-"

"No," she said vigorously, shaking her head, "who are you? Why is it that, whenever I see you, I feel nostalgic?"

Kouga stood silently, frozen in place at the realization that this woman in his arms also felt their mysterious connection. _'Does the string of fate bind us together?'_ he wondered.

Kagome searched his face for answers, but when she found none, she settled for staring at his handsome visage. His face, much like the rest of him, was a rich golden tan, and his obsidian hair added an almost molten shadow to him as his muscles rippled just beneath the surface. His eyes, however, were a bright cerulean, and the contrast of his irises with his dark complexion was positively striking. Black, lush lashes framed his gaze, adding a certain amount of beauty to his otherwise masculine appearance. And his lips – _'oh, his lips'_ – they were full yet angular, sharply defined from the rest of his features due to the red that tinted them.

She was so close that she could almost taste him…

Koga felt her lean into him, rising on her toes to brush her nose against his chin. He heard her murmur, "What are we…?"

He stiffened as her velvet lips pressed against his throat, her warm breath heating his face with agonizing desire. It was the first time they touched directly, and the contact was so electrifying that he could have sworn this was what it felt like to be purified.

"I…" he began, loving the feel of her flesh against his own, "I don't know."

She sighed, having expected no answers from the wolf embracing her. A wave of disappointment ran over her consciousness, and the discontented noise that sounded from her made Kouga grimace.

Just then, their surroundings started to rumble, rocks cracking under the pressure of the inhumane shriek that sounded from the skies. Kouga shielded his woman from the falling debris around them, but an unexpected fissure in the precipice they stood on left them vulnerable... then everything happened at once, and they were helpless to stop it.

* * *

 **Updated: January 2, 2019**


	13. His Woman

The thunderous clash of steel against bone echoed across the mountains, reverberating Kouga's chest plate as a shrill shriek deafened his ears.

The Birds of Paradise came all at once, soaring through the skies as they circled their land-bound prey, rows of teeth gnashing together as they crowed victoriously. The stench of wolf blood wetted their appetites despite the sour taste of purification floating in the air.

"Outta the way, bird brain!" Kouga roared, his katana shoved into a giant feathered yokai's maw so it couldn't bite down on his arm. The fowl's tongue writhed in its mouth, trying to push the sword from its clamped jaws. Kouga jumped just as the ground gave way beneath them, hopping off of the yokai's body with an extra kick to land gracefully on a ledge. He tightened his grip on Kagome as her fingers wound their way into the edges of his chest plate.

She had a far-off look as she searched for her little kit, and only when she seemed to spot him on the back of the fire-cat in the distance did she seem to relax in his embrace.

A growl of approval rumbled in his throat. Human though she was, his miko was loyal.

He shifted her in his arms, holding her with one while using the other to balance himself when he took to the air again, aiming for higher ground. He'd be damned if he let the buzzards pick them off like mere worms in the earth.

"Kagome," Kouga said, and he could feel her stiffen as he used her name for the first time. It tasted sweet, rolling off his tongue like a gentle caress, and frankly that was all he wanted to do right then; his hand cradled her supple rear, lightly squeezing to ensure his grip on her.

She hesitated, but Kagome eventually turned her crystalline gaze onto his. Her eyes were glassy with fright, shimmering like a mountain spring in the moonlight. "K-Kouga…?" she asked quietly, his name a wistful memory as it escaped her with a slight sigh.

He smiled down at her. A fang glinted as his lips parted into a seamlessly confident grin, and it made her shiver. The way she trembled against him made his chest clench.

"The runt'll be ok," Kouga murmured reassuringly. He could hear her gasp in surprise, and his smile widened as he figured he'd said something right. "He has that cat with him," he continued, "and you got me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You think I can't handle a few overgrown turkeys?" she muttered, an eyebrow risen nearly to her hairline.

Kouga smirked. So his woman didn't like being coddled. "I don't doubt your abilities, little miko," he laughed heartily, feeling the glare she was sending his way, "it's just that your bow got damaged when the Birds of Paradise attacked."

"So that's what they're called," she said, casting a glance behind them. Sure enough, the bird-like beasts soared after them, their large shadows casting blots of darkness on the mountain peaks. The fowl's red eyes glowed dimly with bloodlust as they followed.

The wolf yokai grunted in affirmation.

Her lips pursed into a thin line. The way those things followed after them, it seemed to go beyond hunting, almost like they were a _bounty_. That thought didn't sit well in her stomach.

"But why us?" Kagome asked suddenly, and it caught him off guard.

"What d'ya mean?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why're they after us and not Shippo?" After Kouga gave her an incredulous stare, she added hastily, "Not that I'm upset by that. It just… I don't know – it doesn't make sense?"

The way his expression grew grim as he looked onwards seemed to knot her stomach tightly. So her hunch was right. ' _It's not just about hunting for prey to eat…'_ she thought bleakly.

"The Birds of Paradise and my pack are enemies," he explained darkly, his eyes glowering as he reminisced about the recent battle between the two yokai clans for power over the mountains. "Before, there was balance; we were evenly matched until the Shikon shards showed up. The leader of the buzzard brains managed to get ahold of one, and ever since, they've been picking my pack off one by one."

"But you have three shards…" Kagome whispered questioningly.

Kouga winced, his pride wounded. ' _My pack already questions my strength to rule, and now my woman is…?'_

He offered her a stiff nod and tried to ignore the sharp pain in his heart, but he couldn't stop the feeling of helplessness that consumed him like a ravenous beast. He got into this whole mess because he wanted to save his people.

"Kouga…?"

He closed his eyes, allowing his instincts to guide him as he refused to look at her. He couldn't bear to look at her face, into her eyes… eyes he knew would reflect the same thoughts as his people: disappointment and doubt.

Instead, he just squeezed her to him and shook his head, determination strengthening his strides as the distance between them and the Birds of Paradise grew. "I need to save my tribe," Kouga whispered, barely audible to her human ears amidst the howls of the wind whistling by.

Kagome frowned, a sudden realization hitting her like she got punched in the gut. An overwhelming sadness struck her then, and she cupped his cheek as a single tear blew from her lashes, which hit his chest plate as they flew through the mountain peaks. "Or…" she began, a sob trembling her words, "you'll die trying."

Kouga spotted the mouth of a cave to their right, so he quickly veered in that direction before the Birds of Paradise could spot them over the horizon. He landed as quietly as he could, his cloth-wrapped feet settling on the cold, rock surface with ease. Kouga gently slid her down, releasing her rear so that his hand could travel up the soft slope of her arched back as she, too, established herself on the hidden precipice.

He could feel little dimples dotting just above her buttocks, right near where her tail would be if she were one of his kind. His inner yokai purred at the idea of his miko as a wolf, and he wondered absently if her fur would be the same glossy obsidian as her hair. His fingers absently stroked at her mussed locks, her wavelets windswept from their escapade together. And then his attention was caught by the briny scent of tears in the air, and he could just see the red rimming her beautiful eyes in the moonlight.

 _'Was she crying for me?'_ he wondered solemnly. His heart gave another twinge.

Kouga traced the delicate trail of tears that streaked her face, until his gaze flickered to her parted mouth, which let out small gasps of air as she tried to calm herself.

"Why do you cry for me?" he asked her softly.

Kagome quivered in his grasp. The places he touched her seared her skin, sending prickles of desire through her like a dermal aphrodisiac. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch as her eyelashes fluttered with emotion. "It feels as though I've lost you before," she murmured.

Kouga's heart nearly stopped, panic overtaking him in its bony clutches. Her words echoed something in his subconscious, a plea to remember what he can't help but feel he'd forgotten.

 _'How is this possible?'_ he marveled, confusion leading his mind down the rocky path of doubt. Kouga was quite sure he'd never laid eyes on the woman before him until a few days ago, and yet every fiber in his being seemed to know her – call out to her, even. She shook him to his very core, and he didn't like that sense of weakness.

Kouga clucked his tongue in a censuring sound, dragging a breath from his smirk to sound like a mocking wince. "Ah-ah, little miko," he purred into her ear, letting his lips brush against the lobe in a feather-light caress, "you can't lose what you don't yet have."

He traced the shell of her ear with a fang, trailing to sharp canine over her soft flesh at a tantalizing speed. Kouga noticed her brace in his hold, and he tightened his grip on her, flushing their bodies together so that her ample breasts pressed tightly against his chest plate. Even through the cold metal of his armor, he could feel the heat emanating off of her as her arousal spiked.

Kouga suppressed a throaty growl as the spicy scent awoke something bestial inside him. Instead, he plunged into the warmth of her moist lips, his tongue running across the dull ridges of her teeth. She tasted just as she smelled – fresh with minty yet earthen flavor, and laced with a hint of sweetness, like honeysuckle in the dewy spring air. He had never experienced such a delectable taste, and he quickly found himself embarking for more. He suckled on her bottom lip, the rouged flesh supple and tender as it succumbed to his desperate attentions. Kouga nipped her gently, his fang eliciting a draw of blood, and he lapped at the nectar of her mortality fervently.

Kagome shuddered as she tasted the metallic flavor of her blood mixed in with the musky aftertaste of Kouga's mouth. A fire burned in her belly, and the further her tongue danced with his, the more that thirst became unquenchable.

Kouga smiled into the kiss, his confidence regained as she practically hung off of his every touch. He could smell the innocence wafting off of her, noticing the way her touch explored tentatively and with virginal care.

Oh yes, he would have his way with this little miko when the time came. _His_ little miko, his inner-yokai roared.

Kouga pulled away then, sensing the ominous aura growing stronger as the Birds of Paradise encroached on their private moment. Stroking her swollen lips with his knuckles, he said, "It's decided. I'm going to make you my woman."

Kagome stood there, dumbstruck, as the pompous wolf demon started towards the edge of the precipice. He glanced over his shoulder, his long ponytail whipping behind him in the breeze, and he gave her a quick wink.

"Wait here," he instructed, adding cheekily as Kagome frowned at him, "I won't be long."

He lurched off of the rock with ease, the burst of energy that lunged him in the air lifting Kagome's skirt up in the breeze. She gasped in shock, her hands shooting down to hold the fabric with her decency still intact, but when she looked up, the wolf was gone, and screams of agony where all that echoed in the darkness of the night.

* * *

 **Updated: January 7, 2019**


	14. Shippo's Determination

Shippo perched on Kilala's back, his posture acute as he scanned the horizon for the smoke that would give away their camp. He remembered it was somewhere south of the mountains, where the lake gave way to a small stream that stretched for miles; it marked the border of Sesshomaru's land, yet it didn't encroach on the taiyokai's western territory, simply circumventing it like most things did with the western lord.

The kitsune frowned when he thought about Sesshomaru, and subsequently, his half-brother Inuyasha. The hanyou was a handful, but he had never threatened Kagome like he did in their camp; the young miko's aura blanched with fear as he had approached her, fangs barred and his scent dripping with feral arousal. Shippo had seen the way Inuyasha's eyes bled crimson, his golden gaze paling to an icy blue – and yet, the hanyou's gaze had been molten with intention, unlike the ravenous beast he usually became when his yokai blood surfaced.

He was sure what Inuyasha said had more meaning to it that he could understand, given the strange ways adults sometimes spoke – saying one thing and meaning something else entirely.

Shippo shook his head, blue bow swinging as his ponytail mussed in the air. He marveled at the strange ways of adults. Despite his young miko being on the cusp of that peculiar shift from adolescence to adulthood, the kit could smell when she bled, and like Sango, Kagome could be a scary woman when she was angry.

Shippo's thoughts drew back to Inuyasha, a scowl scrunching up his innocent face. "Inuyasha's always the reason mama is mad," he observed, and Kilala nodded her head gruffly, keeping a rigid form so as not to shake her precious cargo; the neko had grown fond of Shippo, who had the heart of a hero despite his small, unaccommodating stature.

Shippo's stomach knotted in uncertainty. Kagome had been mad at not one, but two canines on this night; the brutes approached her with the same scent, their fangs practically dripping as their desires took to forceful contact. Shippo remembered the way Kagome reacted to the wolf demon that had kidnapped him. ' _Kouga_.'

She had aimed her bow at him, but the arrow didn't feel like her other shots; its power had been softer, and it tasted less saccharine in the air as she drew back to fire.

 _'Was she holding back?'_ Shippo speculated, and then he paused in his train of thoughts, startled. ' _Would she have shot him?'_

The way she melted in that vicious wolf's arms made his stomach turn and his mind hurt. He put one of his little hands to his temple, massaging gently as he felt a vein pop in frustration. He had a pervading feeling of helplessness as he recalled how Kagome practically gave herself to the hungry wolf.

"I don't want to lose her," Shippo cried suddenly, and Kilala reared in surprise. When the neko realized he wasn't in danger, she purred, letting the vibrations soothe the kitsune that was nestled safely in her shoulder blades. His fingers dug into her fur, seeking the comfort she provided with her soft warmth.

Being the only two full-blooded yokai in their group, Shippo had grown rather attached to Kilala, as they often communicated in a way only yokai understood. Despite the well intentions of their human companions, it was something Shippo missed dearly, especially when he reminisced about his late father. Sometimes he wanted to have a new father figure, and at first he had looked to Inuyasha to fill that role, but he quickly found the inu-hanyou preferred dishing out lumps rather than comfort.

 _'Mama is enough for me.'_

Shippo sniffled, rubbing his eyes as tears began to well in the corners. His emerald irises shone brightly as the dew of his sorrow came to a head, and his eyes narrowed as his grief gave way to determination.

"I won't lose my mama to wolves again," Shippo whispered, "I'm going to protect her this time." The little kitsune knew of only one person who could save Kagome from the wolf, though Shippo was loathe to admit it, even to himself.

Inuyasha may dish lumps out in heaps, and he may be a stubborn half-breed who put his foot in his mouth way too often, but the hanyou always did one thing right: he protected Kagome at all costs, even from himself.

Shippo took solace in that.

Despite Kagome and Inuyasha's fight earlier, he knew Inuyasha would go after her… so long as he wasn't with the earthen miko he had claimed to love in life: Kikyo.

* * *

 **Updated: January 7, 2019**


	15. Lost Souls

Inuyasha sneezed.

Eyes narrowing as his ears twitched in agitation, he grumbled sourly, "Someone's got a lot to say about me but not to my face." His mouth curled into a snarl, fangs poking out as he groused about ungrateful wenches and stupid humans.

All he ever did was protect them, and this is the thanks he gets? ' _No thanks,'_ he thought bitterly.

Humans always had a trace of decay around them, which was proof that they always got themselves into trouble and that death was imminent. The only mortal he had never scented death on was Kagome, but she was such an enigma that he couldn't even begin to figure her out – her mixed signals, for one.

One second she's staring at him longingly, those wide, crystalline eyes portraying feelings for him that flowed in her gaze like the rivulets of a stream. And next minute? Tidal waves. Sometimes it's the tangy scent of arousal, sometimes it's overwhelming joy, and sometimes it's… anger.

 _'Women_.'

Kikyo had been simple. She had secrets and hidden depths, sure, but her motivation always remained the same: duty.

In life, Kikyo was an honorable woman and a respected miko, and her heart was as pure as any mortal soul could be. Her aura always had a pink glow to it, proof of her power and her innocence, and he remembered the way his skin prickled whenever he embraced her. Her ebony locks always seemed to flow with the wind, each silken strand dancing with the grass around her as she sat on the grove of the Bone Eater's well and watched over her village solemnly.

Inuyasha remembered quite vividly the first time her laid eyes on her, sitting there as she always seemed to, and he never really noticed when she started returning his gaze.

Kikyo's earthen eyes were cold yet nurturing, but the way they lit up in the sunlight melted her usual aloofness, and her gentle smile crinkled them slightly as her expression shone through her distant mask. Kikyo always had a hint of sadness about her, and he knew that she yearned for a simple life away from the responsibility of being the priestess of the Shikon no Tama; it was a great burden for her slight shoulders to bear.

It seemed a lifetime ago when he stood by her, offering his yokai blood for a life of mortality with her, where he could make Kikyo an honest woman. And that's what it was – a lifetime ago.

Being pinned to Goshinboku planted a seed of bitterness in Inuyasha that wasn't there before, and that deeply rooted betrayal seeped into his every waking moment, a distant echo of what could be. But he realized, back at the camp, that he'd been pushing Kagome away for far too long. He had always tried to write off his interest in Kagome as whispers of his past love for Kikyo – it had been easier that way than dealing with the truth.

In truth, Inuyasha loved Kagome far differently from how he loved Kikyo. His first love had been innocent and consuming, but it was a far cry from his greatest or his last.

Kagome was a spitfire, a little hellion wrapped in the sweetness of a pure miko, yet she was far from innocent. The way she sometimes brushed her fingers over his, or how she pressed against his back a little more than she needed to when he carried her, or how she made sure he noticed the way she smelled just after a bath… ' _kami_.'

Inuyasha blinked, his arousal seeping into his gaze and making his vision go hazy.

 _'The things she does to me…'_

He stifled a groan as he remembered how she scented on her monthly bleed, how her essence wafted over to him like the fresh blossoming of sakura. Her usually sweet aura was pinked with arousal, practically screaming at every yokai fiber in his being to take her and claim her as his own. He wanted to sully the pureness that radiated off of her with his yoki so that all demons would know she was _his_.

 _'Mine…'_ Inuyasha thought, and he smiled quietly. His cheeks flooded with warmth at the simple idea of Kagome, soft and delicate, wrapped in his tight embrace, her lush lips brushing against his as she whispered to him: "I love you."

He had never heard Kikyo say that to him, even after a passionate kiss or an amorous walk in the night. Hell, she didn't even breathe the word "love" in his general direction, although he knew deep down that she did.

Kikyo was too proud to love a hanyou.

Although he was willing to turn into a human for her, she only truly showed any affection on the nights of the new moon, and his heart panged with hurt even now at the memory.

His mixed blood had never been good enough – not for his human heritage as royalty, or for his taiyokai brother, or even for his first love. But for Kagome, he was. She accepted him for what he was, a half demon – not human, not demon, but a mere hanyou with no place in the world except by her side.

He would do right by her, because, for the first time, he truly had something to lose; he had never had Kikyo's heart, not completely, but Kagome's…

 _'I hope I'm not too late.'_

Inuyasha's hands clenched at that thought, as if he could feel Kagome's soul in his grasp, slipping away…

A chill ran down Inuyasha's spine, and he glanced to the side to see a serpentine yokai slithering through the trees. Kikyo's soul collectors.

 _'She's close_.'

He observed a soft glow in the distance that extended past the canopy into the night sky. Souls of maidens trailed towards the source he knew to be Kikyo, and he couldn't help the sorrow he felt for them; like Kikyo, they were lost…

Inuyasha crept towards the clearly, cautious to avoid the path of any of the soul collectors as they swirled around the deadpan miko, who sat the base of a tree.

"Inuyasha," she said, her cold gaze turning towards him. He shivered, barely recognizing the earthen orbs that used to look at him with warmth.

"Kikyo…" he murmured quietly.

"What brings you here on this night?"

"To talk," he said, and he looked down at his feet with his ears pressed against the base of his head, which hung in shame.

Kikyo raised an eyebrow, which was an almost unnatural movement for her face that so resembled a clay mask… a mask with that same, sullen expression she used to always wear in life. "You never were one for talking."

He breathed in sharply, his chest constricting as the memories of their conversations flooded back to them. They had all been brief, but she was the first soul he had ever confided in.

"No, I suppose not," Inuyasha answered, pain wracking his voice, "but this needs to happen."

He heard Kikyo sigh. "And what is that?"

Inuyasha looked up then, staring down her unblinking gaze. Her dark lashed framed her eyes in gentle curls, mere wisps of the obsidian that crowned her face in a dark halo. There were no crinkles, no smile left on her emotionless face.

"I want you to give Kagome her soul back."

Kikyo stood at this, her expression giving away nothing. She approached him slowly, her footsteps gliding lifelessly across the forest floor, her feet barely touching the ground. She stopped in front of him, placing an icy, rigid hand on his chest, feeling the wild thrum of his heartbeat as she soaked in her former lover's aura. "Your heart beats for another," she said simply.

Inuyasha winced, but he nodded regardless of the guilt that seemed to be eating him alive. Because that's what he was – alive – and Kikyo was not.

"You understand what will happen to me, when this soul we share returns to her?" Kikyo's pensive glower burned into his face, observing his every twitch of discomfort and his every sentiment of shame.

"You will be at peace," he answered.

Kikyo's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Will you take this life from me, too, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou nearly folded in on himself, the words she spoke held such a blow. "How could you think that? It was Naraku who-"

"Killed me," Kikyo finished. She paused a moment at the grief that flitted through Inuyasha's gaze, before continuing, "You were my weakness, the reason why I failed as the guardian of the Shikon jewel. You distracted me from my duty, which lead to my ultimate demise."

His mouth hung open, wordlessly gaping at her, groping for some thought to come to him that wasn't self-depreciating. Instead, he opted for a modest apology. "I'm sorry, Kikyo…"

She turned from him then, moving back to the tree with that same motionless grace. "I will never forgive you, Inuyasha," she said over her shoulder, keeping her voice the same ethereal deadpan. "If you want my soul restored to Kagome, you will have to shatter this body of mine and take it yourself."

Kikyo faded into the tree line, leaving behind her former lover as coldly as she had greeted him.

Inuyasha stared after her for what seemed like ages, her words echoing in his mind like a siren's call. ' _Can I really do it…? Can I kill Kikyo to save Kagome?'_

His heart clenched, because the answer evaded him just as much as he evaded it. He had chosen Kagome, but in order to save her and Kikyo's soul from its otherworldly torment, Inuyasha might just have to lose his.

* * *

 **Updated: January 7, 2019**


	16. The Search

The scent was old, but it was still there.

His perked up at the faint traces of death that lingered in the air, his little nose twitching furiously as he padded across the forest floor. His hesitant footsteps were mere whispers in the chorus of the night, for all the forest creatures had emerged from their slumber to rejoice in the last tides of summer. A crisp chill seemed to hint at the humid warmth, promising the kiss of autumn in just a few days' time, but that wasn't what made him shiver.

A shift in the wind carried the scent of dog muddled with a loamy aroma, and he frowned. Since he knew Kagome wasn't around to _sit_ Inuyasha into the ground, and he assumed the hanyou hadn't been digging any graves, it left only one conclusion. It was at that moment that he regretted splitting up with Kilala at the campsite.

Shippo hated the dead priestess.

Something about the austere woman made his stomach curl – like he'd eaten a bad mushroom – and the bitterness that wafted from Kagome whenever the ethereal miko was near made even _his_ mouth sour.

Shippo had never understood why Inuyasha went to her. The inu-hanyou was one of the simpler adults he'd come across, which often excused Inuyasha from the peculiar ways adults often acted… but on this one trait, Shippo simply couldn't figure him out.

 _'Stupid Inuyasha.'_ The kitsune shook his head, recalling how the hanyou's dark eyebrows always scrunched at a harsh angle, making his agitating personality a permanent expression. Not that Inuyasha's expression was ever anything less than agitated; his cocky sneer always revealed pearly canines that dwarfed Shippo's fangs – a show of dominance, the kit presumed – and those ridiculous golden eyes always seemed to taunt whoever was in their sights. The dog considered himself the head of their pack, but in truth, Kagome was the alpha, and Inuyasha was just too big of a blockhead to get it.

Shippo frowned. Somehow, his current situation felt all too familiar; Inuyasha's failings as a leader often lead to the group suffering more than necessary. Memories of Inuyasha frequently abandoning his responsibilities to Kagome flitted through the kit's mind, and the recollections were an entirely too long reel of painful betrayals. ' _He's always hurting mama.'_

A pang of anger twisted Shippo's little heart, a feeling of resentment towards the half-demon tainting his usually pure spirit. His hands clenched into tiny fists, his claws digging into the soft flesh of his palms and he bit down on his lip in aggravation. Every minute wasted chasing after Inuyasha and his dead priestess, Kagome came closer to falling into that same category as Kikyo.

 _'Mama's in danger. I need to hurry.'_

He closed his eyes, focusing his senses as he searched for that telltale surge of yoki Inuyasha always projected when he was upset... ' _Or excited_ ,' but Shippo quickly shook that thought as the memory of Koga loomed over him like a frightening specter. He flinched as he practically felt the aura of the wolf demon seeping into his consciousness, and he wished he were in Kagome's safe embrace, far away from the treachery Kouga no doubt had in mind.

He gasped. His emerald gaze flashed open, caught off-guard by the rough jerk of his tail as his feet were dragged from under him. He let out a startled cry, only to be shaken into silence by the familiar and very real aura that surrounded him.

 _'Wolf.'_

His gaze met a light grey chest plate, lingering on the heavy metal chain that wrapped around his captor's torso. Shippo didn't dare look up, because he could see the hunger emanating off of the wolf even from his vantage point. Shippo sucked in a breath when a finger jabbed into his stomach, which tensed in fear as he felt the wolf's claw press into his skin.

"Tender, but small," a gravelly voice said.

"What's this little guy?" a gentler voice wondered, closing in from behind.

There was a pause before the first answered his companion. "Fox, I think."

"Huh? Why does he smell like dog?"

"Dunno." There was an inhale close to his ear, and Shippo had to bite back a yelp as tingles went down his spine. The hand holding him jolted but kept a firm grip. "Yep, definitely fox," he continued, "but what's weird, this kid's got Kouga's scent on him… Midnight snack?"

There was a scoff. "No way could this little guy outrun Kouga."

Shippo dangled helplessly as he was raised to eye-level. The wolf that held him had plain features. Rounded eyes held beady, black pupils, which focused in on Shippo's face with a look of dull curiosity, yet there was a shadow under his waterline that defined his otherwise mild features. The wolf's eyelids were deep-set, sinking strongly into the bridge of his nose and following the arc of his eyebrow bone, however he had no eyebrows. As far as hair went, the wolf was completely hairless save a flashy white Mohawk that lined the top of his tanned scalp.

"Hey, kid," the wolf said noncommittally, "you know Kouga?"

Shippo winced, understanding the precarious situation he was in; these wolves were Kouga's comrades, and a friend of Kouga's was _clearly_ no friend of his. The kit's gaze grew wide with conflict. For a second time, Shippo was struck with overwhelming regret at leaving Kilala's side.

The wolf continued to stare at him, one of his eyelids lifting upwards as his invisible eyebrow rose. He obviously expected an answer from the silent kit.

Shippo stammered nervously, "y-yeah…"

"I guess he's been through here already," the wolf surmised, shifting his gaze to look at his friend, who had yet to reach Shippo's peripheral vision.

"I guess he has," the other demon replied, sighing heavily. "Looks like we have to keep moving…"

Shippo's captor nodded. "We can't catch a break," he said, matching the other wolf's groan.

"We got it tough, following Kouga around."

There was a snort. "Not like anyone can keep up with him anyways…"

"Yeah, he's always leaving us behind." Shippo thought he heard a sniffle from behind him, but he couldn't scent tears.

 _'These guys are weird…'_ Shippo had known wolves always travelled in packs; it had struck him odd that Kouga ran as a lone wolf, even if he was powerful and the leader of a pack. It just wasn't the wolf way.

Shippo had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized the pregnant silence, and the clearing of a gravelly throat told him that he'd been talked to more than once. The kit blinked, focusing back on his captor's expression, and he was surprised to see a look of concern on the wolf's face.

"Kid," he addressed the fox again, "d'ya know which way Kouga went?"

"A-ah…" Shippo hesitated. "Last I saw, he was fighting these giant bird yokai..."

"WHAT?!" they simultaneously cried, breaking the lull of sounds in the night. Their voices seemed to shatter whatever semblance of peace the night creatures found, for they all fell eerily silent.

Just then, there was a crash in the trees, the sound of a rampaging beast approaching them carelessly through the darkness. A flash of red blurred before Shippo's vision, just as he saw stars when his head collided into the ground. There was a yelp that highlighted a low growl, and Shippo instantly recognized the yoki that surged around them mercilessly.

"I've had a bad night," Inuyasha snarled, choking the armored demon with one hand, "and I'm really wanting to kill something. You smell like that fleabag from earlier!"

"Hakkaku!" the previously hidden wolf wailed.

"Inuyasha!" Shippo cried, clawing his way to an upright position. "Inuyasha!"

The hanyou roared impatiently. "Not now Shippo! I want to know why I smell that fleabag all over this place!" He tightened his grip on the wolf in his clutches, his claws starting to dig into the flesh around his hostage's pulsing artery.

"He took Kagome!" the kit screamed, thumping at Inuyasha's leg with tiny fists.

"What?" His golden gaze shifted from bloodthirsty to shock as it flitted down to Shippo's battered form. The kit looked worse for wear, to say the least. His simple hakama were torn in several places, and his usually curly ponytail was ragged and loose. Bruises were starting to blossom on his cheeks, and there was a small cut on his right temple where a branch had whipped him. What really caught the hanyou's attention were those emerald eyes – puffy and red, his face tear-stained and bloated from the strain of crying.

"Kouga kidnapped Kagome!"

Inuyasha frowned. "That mangy fleabag did?"

"Kouga did?" the wolves' voices echoed.

The hanyou stifled a groan. "Damn it. Stupid Kagome, always getting into trouble when I'm not around," Inuyasha grumbled.

Shippo's face soured. "Why weren't you?"

Inuyasha's face grew impressively red, nearly matching the hue of his fire rat robe. "Th-that's none of your business!"

Shippo rolled his eyes. "Is, too! Because of you, Kagome's in danger!"

"She gets into trouble _all_ on her own, the stupid wench. And then _I_ get to do all the work and save her sorry ass."

Shippo's mouth crinkled into a tight scowl, his nostrils flaring as his anger rose at the impudent half-demon. "It's your duty to protect her!"

Inuyasha's chest clenched, and his rouged face blanched as the weight of reality hit him like the fist of an oni. He had left their camp in the first place to protect Kagome… from her incomplete soul, and from himself. ' _Damn it, I can't do anything right by her!'_

"Where are they?" he asked coldly. He felt like a bucket of ice had been dropped on him, and his body was helplessly shutting down as his mind sunk into chaos.

"They're being attacked by bird yokai in the mountains!"

Inuyasha blinked. His heart was stricken with the fact that Kagome was in danger. ' _I wasn't there to protect her...'_ and yet, he'd get to see that stupid wolf again and finish what they'd started.

"Go back to camp, Shippo. I'll handle this."

"No!" the kit yelled. When Inuyasha gave him a withering look, Shippo explained, "I want to save mama too!"

 _'Mama?'_ Inuyasha wondered. ' _He means Kagome?'_

The hanyou suppressed a smile, instead grunting to cover up his brimming emotions. "Alright, runt, hop on – but if you get in my way, I'll drop you."

 _'Like hell I would,'_ his mind thought guiltily, but his heart lifted up as he felt the kit scramble up his kimono to perch on his left shoulder. _'Kids,'_ Inuyasha thought, shaking his head as he prepared to launch himself, ' _but he's mine.'_

"What about Sango and Miroku?" Inuyasha asked.

"Kilala went to find them after we didn't find them at camp." Shippo's voice wavered in Inuyasha's ear, and he could feel the worry rack Shippo's small body; he quivered like an autumn leaf, and Inuyasha was worried that the kit's grip was just as slight as the failing stems of falling leaves.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing them soon enough, runt." He patted the kit's head once in a rare display of affection. "Now hold on."

With that, he catapulted himself into the night, golden eyes burning with determination as they sought out the woman he loved. In the distance, Kouga's companions would be heard, yelling, "Wait!"

But alas, they were left in the dust again, eternally trying to catch up with the overzealous rivals: Kouga and Inuyasha.

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


	17. Long Forgotten

Kagome stood on the precipice, trying not to fall as a series of emotions assailed her unwitting form. Her knees trembled, knocking together in a bruising waver, and suddenly she remembered the weight of her yellow backpack as she fell to her knees. They scraped against the rock ground, skidding her flesh against the jagged surface and drawing blood, but she didn't care.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The heat Kouga caused in her belly was white-hot, but the moment he left, that fiery passion felt like ice. She felt her body shutting down, leaving her to sink into a lonely abyss as she wondered – desperately – if he was going to come back for her.

Kagome gasped.

 _'Why do I want him anywhere near me? He's cruel! A killer!'_ But a small part of Kagome's mind whispered sweet denials… ' _Inuyasha has killed. They're yokai, they're different.'_

She shook her head at the grim thought. She knew better, but it seemed her heart didn't. Kagome closed her eyes, willing those few memories she had of Kouga to stop replaying, of him holding her, kissing her…

Her chest heaved violently as she started to sob. Tears streamed down her face and her lip quivered, his name on the tip of her tongue seeming to suffocate her as she tried to swallow her reality.

Her second kiss, stolen by a cold-blooded killer.

 _'All of those innocent villagers, slaughtered. How could I forget their torment, caused by the same hands that just held me?'_ Kagome swallowed down the bile that began to rise in her throat, sick with self-loathing.

If she were being honest with herself, Kouga hadn't stolen that kiss… she had given it to him – ' _too willingly'_ – and Kagome hated herself for it.

 _'Inuyasha…'_ Kagome's mouth seemed to go dry. ' _He's going to hate me now.'_

She can only imagine that same hurt expression he had when Kikyo was first resurrected. Kagome remembered how his golden eyes flickered to a dull luster, darkening as pain overshadowed his usually boisterous attitude. She couldn't handle it if – instead of Kikyo – it was _her_ he looked at like that. It would devastate her.

Panic struck, slow and steady as it unwound her sanity. ' _Just who in Kami's name is Kouga to me? Why do I have this horrible yet wonderful feeling about him? I_ shouldn't _feel this way, yet…'_

Kagome's long eyelashes batted her cheekbone as her eyes fluttered half-mast, her mind numbingly blank as it tried to block out the pain that battered her straining heart. Blood felt like ice in her veins, burning her from the inside out as thoughts of the wolf consumed her.

Kagome clutched at her chest. She felt the quickening of her heartbeat as she swallowed a scream of aggravation.

"No!" Kagome hissed to herself, tightening the grip on the front of her uniform. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure, yet her fingers wound tighter until there was no more give on the baggy top. Her forearm trembled as it struggled against the urge to tear at herself – to rip at her chest until her heart was torn from it – but the unusually self-destructive thought froze her in place.

 _'This isn't like me...'_ Kagome frowned, anger flaring from her despair. ' _What did he do to me?! I feel like I'm going crazy!'_ At that, she laughed to herself darkly. ' _Maybe I am… I kissed him!'_

Kagome bit at her bottom lip, tenderly chewing at it with her teeth as she wondered how he had so much power over her; it was almost as much as Inuyasha. She didn't know the violent yokai – not really – and she prided herself on having a certain dignity that most women of the Sengoku Jidai seemed to lack…

 _'Even if he is a delicious hunk of a man.'_ Kagome rolled her eyes, cringing at the thought that reminded her so much of Eri. What would her school friends think of her now, five hundred years in the past, torn between two men that aren't even men at all?

How Kouga had managed to make her putty in his claws sent shivers down her spine, whether from fear or something else, she didn't know.

Kagome blinked. Her breathing sounded all too loud to her, and she realized that it was because the sound of fighting had dissipated. The crashes of rock and harrowing screeches no longer echoed across the mountain peaks, leaving a deathly silence in their wake.

 _'Who… won?'_

Putting her feelings on the wolf aside, she knew he fought for their lives while the giant bird yokai fought for its dinner. She definitely didn't want to be bird food, and she sure as Kami wasn't easy pickings.

Snagging her bow from the ground next to her, Kagome stood up, ignoring the ache in her knees as she took on a defensive pose. She fished an arrow from her quiver, realizing all but one had fallen from the container during their escape from the cliff collapse.

 _'Better make this count.'_ She sucked in a breath, holding it as she waited, anticipating.

Just then, the earth quaked around her as violent gusts thrashed the area around her. A bloodcurdling cry resounded on the horizon, and glimmering ruby eyes surmounted the peaks and locked onto her small form.

"I smell _HUMANNN_ ," it shrieked, opening its maw into a ghastly grin.

Kagome cursed her recklessness, understanding the scent of her blood probably attracted its attention from the fight. Pursing her lips, she drew her bow taught, aiming it at the giant creature before her. She prayed to Kami that she was channeling whatever portion of Kikyo's soul that was left within her body, because she couldn't afford to miss. Kikyo never missed her mark.

"Come and get me, bird brain!" Kagome yelled in defiance. Her eyebrows knit together in concentration; she could feel the vibrations in her bowstring as the air around her was violently displaced, the creature making its descent with every intent to kill.

 _'Do I aim at the bird or the humanoid torso on top?'_ Kagome cursed at herself again. ' _I'm not going to die because of some bloated bird!'_

She wavered between the two targets, hesitating just long enough for it to overtake her; Kagome's bow was useless in close combat, and staring at the razor-sharp talons outstretched towards her, Kagome did the only thing she could – she ducked.

The yokai missed grabbing her, but its claws raked across her back, tearing the flesh with searing precision and ripping her pack from her shoulders. A cry of pain wretched from her lungs as she dropped to the ground unceremoniously. The tatters of her bag fell around her in shredded ribbons. Papers from her books fluttered in the wind like sakura blossoms, but the oddly beautiful sight started to fade as her bleary vision began spotting. Her mouth was parted from the agony wracking her body, the name of her love on the cusp of her lips…

A resounding crash echoed in the back of her mind, and she vaguely registered a spray of blood raining over her. Gore fell from the sky all around her, making her wince when she felt the vile flesh mix in with her open wounds.

"Kagome!" A deep male voice called to her desperately. He sounded so far away…

"Inu… yasha?" she asked, her eyelids wavering as they strained against the darkness overcoming her. She couldn't focus on him, but she felt big hands grasp her limp body to his hardened one.

"Stay with me, damn it!" Kagome thought she heard tears cracking his voice.

Her lips quivered into a weak smile. "I… promised, didn't I…?"

"Damn it, I can't lose you!" His voice was a deep timbre against her fading consciousness, rubbing her in all the right ways, like thick silk… draping her in a sudden realization.

"Kouga…" she whispered.

He growled low in distress, lapping at her bloodied face with his rough tongue. The primal noise seemed to awaken something instinctual in the young miko, because her eyes flew open, her nostrils flaring as she called all her power into the core of her soul. Feathers powdered the skies… but she knew better.

Kagome somehow knew before she saw it as her hands outstretched. She ignored the pain when her shoulders protested against the movement. The wolf's objections were mere whispers to her flickering consciousness, and she disregarded the dimness fringing on her vision, focusing her remaining energy into her palms as they shielded her from the oncoming attack.

"NOOOO!" she screamed, blasting her holy powers towards the maimed bird yokai. It was missing half a wing and a leg, one massive eye a withered mess from the gash deep across it. Somehow, the gruesome wound made its crimson gaze look even more bloodthirsty.

She faintly recognized Kouga's flair of yoki that surged when her powers released. Instead of clashing like she expected, the two auras danced around each other in sync, writhing and combining like long lost lovers.

Her mouth opened to gasp, to wonder, to say something – _anything –_ that would make sense of such a revelation, but a burst of searing warmth enveloped them as their auras merged into a chaotic supernova.

A flash of light, a single earth shattering cry, and then there was nothing – nothing but silence and the feeling of missing something that was long forgotten.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 _A soft glow illuminated the clearing as a warm breeze wafted amongst the trees, scattering the radiant beams of sunlight that filtered through the canopy. They looked like stars faceting the ground, as if the heavens were brought to the earth in a tranquil embrace._

 _And they_ were _in heaven, wrapped in each other's arms._

" _I never want to leave."_

 _Kagome lolled her head to the side, glancing away from the blue skies to stare into impossibly blue eyes. They glimmered with mirth and joy and… love._

 _She smiled at him, curling a slender finger in one of his runaway locks, twisting it absently as she enjoyed the silken feel. Her lips were swollen, no doubt from his passionate touches, and a heat spread in her belly at the memory._

 _He returned her smile, his gaze flickering with amusement as he scented her arousal. "Then don't," he said._

 _Her heart panged as memories flitted across her vision like phantoms, echoing of lost possibility. She opened her mouth to speak, but she thought better of her words. '_ I promised Inuyasha that, once.'

" _What is it, Koi?" he asked softly, no doubt sensing her sudden shift in mood. He propped himself on his right arm, twisting so as to lie facing her. His chestnut brown tail swished sullenly behind him, the only obvious indicator of his worry._

'Way to be a wet blanket, Kagome _,' she cursed to herself._

" _It's nothing, Kouga," she said, running a hand down his armored chest. When he quirked an eyebrow at her, she added, "_ really _, I'm fine."_

" _I hear what you're saying, but why does your_ scent _say otherwise?"_

 _Kagome held back a very unladylike groan, mumbling about how intrusive canine noses were, and Kouga chuckled._

" _Come on, Kags, just tell me." He scooted a little closer so that their bodies were aligned and barely touching. The direct contact immediately soothed her, and his musky scent wafted over to her despite the overwhelming fragrance of flowers in the area. Kouga was like a balm that soothed her soul. She delighted in it._

 _Kagome puffed out her cheeks, puckering her lips in a feigned pout. "What if I don't want to tell you?"_

 _It was Kouga's turn to snort. He threw back his head in aggravation. "Stop acting like a pup," he said, his voice hanging onto that last word like it held something more._

" _I'm not a pup!" Kagome whined, sitting up with a genuine pout scrunching her features._

 _That adorable expression was too much for Kouga. His tongue flitted to his upper lip as he savored the trace taste of her… '_ sweet and salty with a hint of citrus.' _A flavor he would never forget._

" _Hn, Koi," Kouga purred, brushing his nose against the soft slope of her cheek. He inhaled her honeyed scent, noting the faint undertones of sadness that still lingered. His bit back a whine. '_ How could Kagome be sad in a moment like this?'

 _He could fix that._

 _Lapping at the corner of her mouth with a quick dart of his tongue, he murmured, "You're right. You're not a pup, because I'm not a cradle-robber."_

 _Kagome slapped him away with a light swat, and her laughter chimed in the warm air, mixing with the symphony of dancing grass and the whirr of butterflies' wings. It was a beautiful sound, even if it was at his expense._

" _Yeah, right," she said between giggles, "how old are you again? A couple centuries?"_

 _His ears pinked as a blush spread across his features. "Three and a half, thanks for askin'."_

" _Definitely not a cradle-robber," Kagome agreed, humor glittering in her sapphire eyes._

 _Smiling down at her, a naughty glint in his own cerulean blue, Kouga pressed his hips right up against hers, bucking in a quick, small motion. A soft moan escaped his little vixen. "A pup couldn't do this," he said, chuckling as Kagome's face turned tomato red._

 _She turned her face to the side, mumbling something so low that even his yokai hearing couldn't pick it up. Complaints, no doubt._

" _Hey, Kags…"_

 _Her eyes flitted to his for a split second, only to cast aside again when she caught him looking. After a moment, she responded, "what?"_

" _I want pups."_

 _This time, there was no hesitation in her response. "WHAT?" she screeched, her breath practically choking on her shock. Her head flung towards his so fast that she swore she got whiplash._

 _Kouga winced. His ears tucked back at her shrill voice rang in his hearing, splitting his eardrums in a painful resonance. Blinking through the tears threatening to well, he stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and discomfort. "Is… is that bad?"_

'Any wolf demon would kill to bear my pups…' _he thought despondently_. 'But my Kagome isn't a wolf demon, or a demon for that matter… she's a human.'

" _Kagome…?" he asked after her silence. He searched her face for any hints as to what he said wrong, but he couldn't see much past the crimson blush staining her skin like a bruise._

" _It's just that-" she paused. "It's just that I'm… a little_ young _to have kids, and…" she chewed on her lip, which was still swollen from his own tending to them._

 _It was true that they hadn't consummated anything yet, but he was under the impression that she wanted to be with him. He understood humans' commitment was less… permanent… than wolves', but his Kagome was special… He recalled women younger than Kagome tending to their children, often while working the gardens or doing laundry. '_ She is of childbearing maturity… right?'

" _I'm just not…" Kagome huffed, stealing her resolve, "ready."_

" _Ready?" Kouga echoed, his breathless voice trailing off wistfully._

'For the commitment.'

 _Kouga rolled off from on top of Kagome, favoring the hard ground to the soft cushion of her body that tortured him. His crossed his arms over his chest, willing the tightness of his heart to go away, using his muscled forearms as a buffer from the rest of the world. For the first time in his life, Kouga felt fragile._

" _I… I need to go," Kagome whispered, sensing the awkward tension between them. The air was warm and the weather was docile, yet she felt anything but. She felt cold. She felt… bad._

 _Kagome winced when he didn't answer. His unusually distant demeanor struck a cord in her heart that she didn't know existed. Her time with Kouga was supposed to feel lighthearted – refreshing, even – like long summer breaks amidst years of school. She didn't know when things got complicated, yet somewhere along the line, she knew that they'd gotten serious. She wanted more than fleeting moments and brief glimpses, yet deep down, she didn't know if she wanted it with Kouga or with Inuyasha._

 _Kouga gave her the attention she sought and deserved; yet, she always went back to Inuyasha. Every. Single. Time._

 _Sighing, she hoisted herself up with a push at her knees. Kagome patted down her skirt, fixing the knife pleats so that they were as sharp and crisp as the day they were dry-cleaned. Usually, Kouga would take this opportunity to get a panty shot and firmly brand it into his memory, yet he lay there staring impassively at the sky._

 _Glancing at him one last time, Kagome turned to leave, dragging her toes against the ground with each step._

'I guess this moment is over…' _she thought grimly._ 'And it's all my fault. Kagome: 1. Wet Blanket: 2.'

 _In the distance, Kagome could hear Kouga's timbre voice mutter, "Say hi to muttface for me."_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Quit your yappin'!"

"Well then, why don't ya' try and listen, fleabag?!"

Their words were muffled, almost as if she were listening through water. Yet, the conversation seemed familiar to her – like she'd heard it a million times – and she knew exactly what they were saying.

 _'Am I dreaming?'_ She wondered absently, still shaken from her previous nightmare. ' _Why is Inuyasha here?'_

"Quit your barkin' and say something reasonable, muttface!"

"I already told you… LET GO OF KAGOME!"

She felt her body shift, dangling in the hold of presumably Kouga. His body was just as warm as she remembered from her dream, like a furnace in the dead of summer, yet the crisp autumn air was a sharp juxtaposition to her reverie. She stifled a groan.

"Get that overgrown fang outta' my face, dogbreath!"

"Shut up!"

"Inuyasha!" Shippo's high voice pitched in, "Stop it! You'll hurt Mama!"

 _'Shippo…'_ His chiming assertion rang alarm bells in Kagome's muddled mind. ' _What's going on…?'_

"Don't say I didn't warn ya'!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome felt his familiar yoki lash around her in waves of manifested light, meeting and swirling with Kouga's essence, following the pattern of the wind where they clashed. She felt Kouga tense as his muscles all coiled for fight or flight, twitching as his instincts battled for dominance, his hair standing on end. Kagome shivered as she realized what she was exposed to, and her mouth opened to cry out that special word when –

"WINDSCAR!"

And all went still before it hit at once.

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


	18. The Windscar

The wreckage from the Windscar raked across the stony ground, trailing deep fissures to where Kouga and Kagome were just moments before.

Shippo stared wide-eyed, void of all emotion as he held a bated breath. His body felt cold as it shivered in disbelief, the beginnings of heartache and the belated thrum of adrenaline trembling his frozen form. His emerald irises glistened with fresh tears, searching desperately for anything – _anything at all_ – that could lead him to the fate of his mother: her futuristic objects, pieces of her yellow bag, scraps of green fabric torn from her school uniform… _anything._ But there was nothing – absolutely _nothing_.

His little hands balled into fists, blood drawing from his palms and lips as his teeth elongated; his bestial side was taking dominance, surging forth the small yet pure yoki from the kit. His hair bristled as his yoki clashed with Inuyasha's, but he didn't care. He still felt the saccharine presence of Kagome's reiki, reminding him of what he'd lost. _Again._

"How could you?!" Shippo cried. His voice was raised a pitch, cracking as he choked on a sob. Shippo turned to face the red-clad hanyou.

Inuyasha was taken aback by the kit's vicious tone, and glancing over at the small boy he secretly cared about, he was shocked to find his kit's semi-transformed state. Though Inuyasha knew Shippo had latent power in order to maintain a humanoid appearance, he didn't expect that Shippo had a beast lurking within; that was reserved for yokai of high rank and power – usually yokai nobility. Inuyasha thoughts quickly flitted to his bastard of a half-brother.

"Tch," Inuyasha mumbled bitterly. ' _Maybe the little shit thinks he's better than me, too.'_

Staring into Shippo's emerald green eyes, which were now rimmed with red, Inuyasha's gaze narrowed as the boy started to snarl. "What're you going on about, runt?"

"How could you do that to Kagome?!" Tears started to brim over Shippo's lower lashes, streaking down his face and trailing down the rigid yokai markings adorning his plush cheeks.

"Keh! I didn't do anything to her! That fleabag-"

"You hit her with the Windscar!" Shippo shrieked, pouncing on Inuyasha's leg to trash and punch at his stupid, billowing hakama.

"I had to get her away from that fucking wolf!" Inuyasha tried to shrug him off with a gentle kick, which only made Shippo grip on harder.

"Where is she?! Because of you, I've lost my Mama! _Again_!"

"Listen, runt! You don't know what you're talking about! Kagome-"

"Inuyasha?" Inuyasha swiveled at the sound of a female voice, praying to the kami above that Kagome had come back to him and not run off with that damned wolf. His ears drooped when he saw Sango and Miroku enter the clearing riding Kilala.

The weight of the subjugation beads grew heavy around his neck as Sango leapt from Kilala to scoop the little kit up; the absence of Kagome tending to the little runt hit home for him, as if finally realizing what he'd done.

Shippo stopped thrashing and simply curled into Sango's chest, tucking his head between her bosom and arm, sobbing into her taijiya uniform. Sango cooed at the boy, occasionally rubbing his auburn curls. She gave Inuyasha a look that would wilt any flower, and Inuyasha shrank back from the promised wrath sent his way. He wished she would yell at him, scream and shout and call him names like Kagome did instead of sending him silent death glares that barely hid her hatred.

Sango walked off, murmuring something so quietly to Miroku as she passed that even Inuyasha couldn't hear it. Whatever it was, Miroku's face grew grim as he approached the hanyou tentatively.

"What happened?" the monk asked softly. His violet eyes glanced over the shattered rock and torn ground, noting the ethers of Kagome's reiki that still emanated from the destructed place. He couldn't see any sign of Kagome, but he knew she was recently here.

"Kouga took her." Inuyasha winced when Miroku raised a questioning brow.

"And you just… let him?"

"Fuck no!" Inuyasha yelled, offended that Miroku would even suggest such a thing. Hell if he would let _anyone_ take Kagome from him, let alone that mangy wolf.

Seeing that his hanyou friend was upset, Miroku put a calming hand on the dog's shoulder, jangling his staff as he settled into a placating posture. ' _It seems we have missed much_ ,' Miroku thought warily.

Gently, he probed, "Why is Shippo so upset?"

Inuyasha folded his arms, looking away as he answered gruffly, "Keh! The runt is always upset when something happens to Kagome."

Miroku squeezed Inuyasha's shoulder slightly, trying to get the obstinate hanyou's attention. When golden eyes met violet, Miroku said somberly, "Never like this."

Inuyasha was silent for a few moments, staring into Miroku's eyes desperately for any form of solace. He found none.

"… I know," Inuyasha murmured, barely above a whisper. He swallowed hard as he swallowed his pride, letting all the guilt and regret bubble to the surface. His face grew haggard as his gaze became concerned, and he took to staring at the debris rather than Miroku. He couldn't look at his friend when he finally admitted, "It's because of me. I fucked up."

"The Windscar," Miroku affirmed, nodding.

"The runt thinks I killed Kagome."

There was a pregnant pause as Miroku struggled to find the right words. He knew his friend was on a precipice, but hearing Shippo's wails, he also knew something had gone terribly wrong. Finally, he asked, "Did you?"

Inuyasha blinked, eyes glazed over as he glanced back at the monk. Surprise registered in his face, but the glossy look in his amber irises answered silently: _I don't know._

"I have to find her," the hanyou said. ' _I have to find out.'_

Miroku nodded. Letting go of the hanyou, he turned to walk back over to Kilala, Shippo, and his lovely maiden. Sango's rear was plump and ripe for the touch of his wandering hand, but even it had stilled following the somber conversation he just had. Miroku watched as Sango tucked Shippo between Kilala's shoulder blades, praying to the kami that they could find and reunite with their friend from the future.

Without her, all seemed to be lost, and most of all – _they_ were lost without her.

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


	19. Love and War

When Kagome came to, she was enveloped in the musky scent of pine and autumn spice. Her eyes still closed, a smile curved her plush lips at the warmth surrounding her. It felt nostalgic and safe, like how you often feel come the holiday season, curled up by a fire with a good book and a hot cocoa.

She nuzzled into the warmth, surprised to find it hard when she expected soft. Her breathing hitched in worry, but then she remembered that she was in the feudal era and not tucked away in her bed; the ground was sometimes hard when they weren't lucky enough to find forgiving earth in a strategic camping spot.

She sighed in contentment, wondering why she was allowed this solace and not being yelled at to get up. And yet, even from behind her eyelids, she could scarcely see light.

 _'It must be early,'_ she thought fleetingly.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, peering around her. She expected to see Shippo curled up somewhere near, and Miroku propped up against a tree not too far off, while Sango rested quietly against Kilala barely an arm's length away. She expected a warm fire to crackle through the night and stave off the early autumn air. What she did not expect was a dark cave, which barely filtered in the dying light of the evening.

"Where am I?" Kagome mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. She couldn't remember for the life of her how she got there. The orange hue of the sunset dimly lit the cavern, and it revealed to her that she was alone, save some old bones scattered about the cave from past inhabitants.

Or so she thought.

The wall seemed to move from behind her, and she barely held in a yelp as an arm wrapped around her waist like a vice, crushing the wounds splayed across her back. It pulled her closer to her mysterious heat source, and when she looked down with wide eyes, she noticed tanned arms adorned with fur cuffs.

 _'Kouga,'_ Kagome thought with a wince. By the way his breathing pressed his chest against her back in steady waves, Kagome knew he was asleep. Somehow, that revelation surprised her. It was rare for a yokai to sleep, especially when in the company of an enemy.

 _'Are we enemies…?'_ Kagome felt a swell of sadness crash over her at the thought, but she quickly shook it away. ' _He's killed people. And he kidnapped Shippo,'_ she reasoned with herself. ' _But then, what was that dream?'_ The warm breeze still seemed to linger on her skin, and the feel of his body against hers seemed so… familiar. Heat began to pool in her stomach as butterflies managed to get trapped there, and she pursed her lips to withhold a wistful sigh.

The pain began to subside from the gashes created by the Bird of Paradise, and she realized that they must not have been as deep as she assumed, because she could already feel the taught skin of healing scabs when she moved her arms. Sending a thank you to the kami, she just prayed they didn't scar.

Kouga's breath wisped against the fine baby hairs at her temple. Tingles went up her body realizing how close they were, and with each balmy breath against the nape of her neck, the more breathless she became. Her chest started to clench as her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she hoped it wouldn't wake him up.

Her legs were entangled with his, almost trapped amongst them as she found herself sitting between them, pressed up against his core. She blushed when she realized just _where_ she was sitting, and as she tried to wiggle free, the soft furs wrapped around his waist tickled the sliver of skin between her school top and skirt. Holding back a disgruntled huff, Kagome gave up when she felt the clawed hand at her side tighten possessively.

Sending a glare behind her to her captor, she was caught off-guard by the sight that greeted her. His piercing blue eyes were closed, letting his long lashes fan out over his cheeks in lush crescents. The cruel lines of his face had softened in sleep, giving him an innocence that made her wonder his age.

 _'Three and a half centuries,'_ her mind supplied, but she shook it off.

Blinking, she realized he couldn't have been much older than her. Well, respectively.

 _'Inuyasha's practically an old man,'_ Kagome reminded herself with a chuckle.

Inuyasha.

His name caused her heart to clench, but in a painful way. Kagome had never expected him to use Tetsusaiga against an opponent when she was _in the way_. She was surprised that Tetsusaiga had even worked in that instance, since it was supposed to protect humans…

Inuyasha's calling forth of the Windscar echoed in her mind like a tormented whisper, and each time it came to mind, Kagome cringed. She didn't remember much, save his piercing shout, and the painful clash of yoki and reiki. The hairs on her arms stood on end at the memory of it.

A purr-like rumble came from Kouga, reverberating against her body in a comforting tremor. The noise seemed to seep into her mind like a fog, caressing her worries and soothing them in a gentle embrace.

She looked back at him and was surprised to meet a cerulean gaze.

Groping for words desperately, she said awkwardly, "Ah… did I wake you? Sorry…"

A small chuckle interrupted the purr, and he flashed a boyish smile her way that held only the faintest note of teasing. "Don't worry about it," he replied, watching her closely for any more signs of her distress. Uneasiness permeated her scent in a rancid sort of way, decaying the natural fragrance that exuded from her like spring air, and his inner beast clamored to protect what was theirs. He recalled her near-death state the night before, and he was frankly surprised that she had the strength to waken. It was his understanding that humans healed much slower than demons. However, if she was in pain, she didn't show it.

Kagome smiled nervously, unsure what to do in the arms of a man, entangled so fully in his grip.

"I'm not going to eat you," Kouga said. After a pause, he added with a wink, "Well, unless you want me to." He flashed his fangs as his smile widened. The sight would have been terrifying if it weren't for the glint of harmless mischief in his eyes.

"Um…" Kagome began hesitantly, "Why are we – um… How are we here, exactly?" She gestured around them.

Kouga understood what she meant and nodded. "Muttface tried using that overgrown fang of his, but since I'm wolf, I sensed it before it even came. I tried getting out of the way, but _damn_ that thing can pack a punch." Kouga looked at her, hesitant to admit his weakness, but he shrugged and figured he had nothing to lose opening up to a lone human female. "If it weren't for you, we'd have been easy pickings for the Birds of Paradise."

 _'I already failed protecting you once,'_ he thought, his eyes skimming over the tattered remains of her top. The strange collar offered the most coverage for her back, and hidden just beneath the white strips of fabric hanging loosely from her frame, Kouga could see the puckered flesh of healing tissue.

Kagome sat silently, blinking at him uncomprehendingly. ' _Me? What did I do?'_ After a second of thought, she realized that that must have been why she remembered her reiki clashing with overwhelming yoki.

"Ah, but…" Kagome chewed her bottom lip, and it didn't escape her notice when Kouga's eyes followed the action. "Um… Why didn't you get… purified?" She winced at that last part, hoping he didn't take offense. He wasn't eating her now, but that didn't mean he _wouldn't._

"I don't know," Kouga answered quietly, his gaze wandering to the dark back of the cave, as if seeing a scene that wasn't there. His grip on her slackened, and Kagome took the chance to shift away from him, giving a small berth between the two.

She watched his face as it flitted between pensiveness and bewilderment. She felt like she'd seen this expression many times before, but she couldn't recall from where. ' _Certainly not from Inuyasha.'_ At the thought of her hanyou, her eyebrows twitched, and she dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap.

The last time she had seen him – _really_ seen him – he had said those things, and then… her fingers touched her lips wistfully.

He had never been like that with her before, but then he just _ran off._ Like. Always.

Kagome couldn't help the twinge of betrayal that pierced her heart, or the subsequent guilt. It seemed like Inuyasha never cared when she got hurt, because he always seemed to make everything about him, or Kikyo, or the shards… and yet, she knew he cared for her, in his own way.

She pursed her lips, her hand balling into a fist as she held it to her chest. ' _And then the Windscar…'_

And before that… ' _Kouga…'_

Her face heated up at the memory of his searing kiss, and her heart clamored in her chest with a ferocity that rattled her. The smell of him, the feel of his lips, the warmth that intoxicated her as he surrounded her with his strong embrace – it left Kagome breathless every second, and she constantly felt like she was suffocating.

Kouga noticed the spicy tang that unfurled in Kagome's scent, and he was shaken out of his reverie as his beast battered its cage. The smell of her arousal encompassed the small cave in an ever-growing aphrodisiac, and the rosy blush that spread across her cheeks gave her a virginal allure.

 _'She must be fine if she can feel like_ that. _I wonder who she's thinking about?'_ Kouga thought with a smirk.

Giving way to his curiosity, he voiced his question. "Who're you thinking about?"

Startled to hear his voice, Kagome looked at him dumbly. "What?"

"Who're you thinking about right now?" he repeated, focusing on her every reaction to his question.

At first she stammered. Her fingers fidgeted with each other, and she suddenly seemed very preoccupied with admiring her nails, which Kouga noted were cleaner and more even than most humans'.

Her hesitance made Kouga's subconscious supply the answer. ' _Inuyasha.'_

Looking away shyly towards the mouth of the cave, where dying light met her sapphire gaze, a spark in her eyes lit the fire within Kagome. "It's none of your business," she said resolutely, whipping her head to stare at the wolf demon defiantly.

Kouga ignored the twinge in his chest, and he vaguely wondered why he felt so betrayed.

"Fine," he shrugged. He knew he couldn't force an answer out of her peacefully, and he already knew he probably wouldn't like the answer he got. Kouga knew how to pick his battles like any good leader would, but he hadn't expected to feel the ensuing hurt from her response.

Kagome's eyes grew wide, and she peered at him owlishly through the curtain of ebony hair cascading around her small face. She quirked her head to the side, as if straining to hear something quiet, but then abruptly sat back up in a nearly rigid stance. "That's… it?"

Kouga raised a brow, glancing over at the little human who has already caused him so much trouble. "That's it."

"No yelling, or calling names, or… _anything_?"

Kouga blinked. ' _Does she want to fight? What a strange woman.'_ Kouga hadn't been around many women aside for a quick rut, but he had heard from the men of his tribe with mates that they were baffling creatures – impossible to understand. Kouga nodded minutely, affirming his brothers' words.

"Nothing," he simply said.

Kagome tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear awkwardly, suddenly embarrassed at her words. She probably sounded crazy. ' _Of course he's not Inuyasha,'_ she scolded herself.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Well… ok, then."

They sat in a tense silence that gradually grew comfortable as they watched the evening fade into night. As dusk fell, Kagome once again turned to him, unsure of herself as her eyesight started to fail her. "So what now?" she asked.

Although she couldn't see much of anything in the dark, Kouga could. He watched her in his peripheral vision, taking note of how she seemed to relax around him. Despite being a miko, she was oddly comfortable with a yokai's presence, and her aura didn't seem to clash with his like he expected it to; they were opposites, after all – two very different sides of life that kami created. And though she dressed in those revealing clothes, he sensed an atmosphere of propriety around her that demanded respect. Despite this fierceness, she still slouched when relaxing, and she showed all her emotions without any fear.

"Now?" Kouga thought for a minute, trying to draw out his alone time with the woman so near to him. But, his sense of duty overwhelmed his beast's urges and subtly his own, as well. "Now, we head back to my tribe. I've been away for too long."

 _'I came here to wait until she healed. She wouldn't be of use to me dead, but…'_ they had already been there for a day.

Kagome's aura flared slightly, causing a faint pink glow in the cave. Kouga shied away from it, yet instead of burning, he felt gentle warmth caress him. He had never felt something so pure in his life – something so completely against his nature – and he almost seemed to _like_ the sensation… it was as if a hole in his being was filled with the presence of her reiki, instead of it tearing holes in his yoki.

"I never agreed to that," Kagome said, miffed. She was done with men – no, _canines_ – jerking her around so much. And there was the fact that she was more than a little unsettled by the familiarity between them; she felt as if she were on a precipice, and that taking his hand would only lead to a great and terrible fall.

Kouga smiled at his defiant little vixen, though she couldn't see it. Her fiery spirit amused him, and it made his beast all the more excited to tame her. "I didn't ask you," Kouga chuckled.

Kagome stood up, holding back a hiss as the action stretched her healing wounds, placing a white-knuckled fist on her hips and glaring in the direction she heard his voice coming from. She shifted her weight to one leg, turning her nose up at where the wolf crouched. "Well, maybe you should've."

From the angle he was at, Kouga could see the long expanse of leg that sloped into a shapely buttock, framed by the gentle weight of her extremely short skirt. An intricate, delicate fabric stretched across the muscle of her hip and rear, of the likes he'd never seen before. It was oddly attractive.

"I don't think captors often ask their captives what they want. This is true, even for humans, no?" Kouga purred, slowly rising to his feet. He easily towered over her, and when she sensed his proximity, she stepped back blindly; her foot caught a rock, making her fall backwards with a yelp before strong hands plucked her from the tumble.

Back in the safe embrace of Kouga's hold, Kagome breathed heavily as her distress ebbed away, and she tried her best to quell the blistering pain of her wounds as they reopened. "Oops," Kagome said with an awkward laugh to break the unbearable silence. She would be damned before she showed weakness in front of Kouga.

"Are humans always so clumsy in the dark?"

Kagome huffed. "Well _excuse me_ for being human."

She felt a rumble in Kouga's chest, and she gathered that he was silently laughing at her. She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance, trying to shove away from him even if it meant a tumble with some stupid rocks.

 _'There's nothing wrong with you being human_ ,' he thought and wanted so desperately to say, but he bit it back. Of course there were issues with her being human, even if she was different from the rest. She was a _miko_ , a threat to his people as much as she could be an ally against the Birds of Paradise. She could help him find shards, but was it really worth the risk?

He already felt so different because of this woman in his arms, and he didn't like the fact that it happened all on its own without his control; he didn't like the sway she seemed to have over him.

 _'I should kill her, before it's too late.'_ He thought, ' _This was a mistake.'_

And then he caught the sickly-sweet scent of her blood.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, trying to hide the unwanted concern in his voice.

"N- no…?"

"Then why do I smell blood?"

Kagome flushed bright red, giving off enough heat to start a fire as she awkwardly scuffed her feet against the ground. "Um…"

"Let me see," he murmured softly.

Turning her around, Kouga winced when he saw the blood pooling in the crevices of her opened wounds. It soaked into the dirty fabric strewn across her back, and he vaguely noted the putrid smell of infection underlying the scent of her blood.

 _'Humans are so… fragile.'_ Kouga thought in wonderment as he inspected the torn flesh with a claw, lifting the tattered remains of her top to get a better look. He noted a strange band wrapped tightly around her torso, which didn't seem to do her wounds any favors as it squeezed her flesh.

"We should clean this," Kouga said after a time, satisfied that he'd seen the extent of the damage. He was slightly worried by the brewing infection, and he only hoped her reiki would burn it from her system.

Kagome rubbed her arms softly to ward off the cold that permeated her body. The gashes felt like icy veins invading her body, and she barely staved off a shiver as she briskly nodded. "I won't say no to a bath."

"Is that an invitation?" Kouga growled, a faint note of teasing in his voice as he led her from the cave by her arm.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but she was thankful that he was allowing her to tend to her wounds properly. ' _I'll take what I can get until someone can rescue me,'_ she thought, nodding. "Don't think I forgot about your interruption last time."

Looking back at her, he winked, but Kagome was stunned by the slight glow in his cerulean gaze.

"All's fair in love and war," he said.

Kagome's breath hitched at the dark glint in his eye. "And which is this?"

Kouga shrugged. "War."

But secretly, his beast purred: _Both._

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


	20. His Eyes

Kouga was itching to scoop Kagome up and get to the water spring quickly, but he knew the feisty vixen would pitch a fit and be careless of her health in the process. Somewhere in the scuff with Inuyasha and the Birds of Paradise, Kagome had lost a shoe, so she leaned heavily on her loafer-clad right foot to avoid sharp rocks and twigs that littered the ground. With her limping and the tender wounds across her back, Kagome was treading carefully…

' _And slowly_ ,' Kouga noted in frustration.

To think he – Kouga, fastest wolf demon in all the lands – would move at a snail's pace for the sake of a human woman… over her _pride_. His tribe probably wouldn't believe it, even if they saw it with their own eyes. Hell, they would probably mock him or even try to take his place as alpha.

' _If they dared_ –' which none of them would, but the thought still crossed Kouga's mind. ' _They'd be a bunch of dumbasses to not see I'm doing this for them.'_

Kouga could easily wipe out the Birds of Paradise on his own. He was confident in that fact. However, fighting alone just wasn't the wolf way, and he would bet his hide that his pack would want to fight beside him and get themselves killed until he found the bird with the damn jewel shard.

Kouga sighed.

"Is something wrong?"

Kouga looked up to find Kagome peering behind her. Though he could tell she couldn't see well due to her widened eyes and dilated pupils, he knew she could sense his aura, if even subconsciously.

He felt comforted by the scent of juniper and wolfberries that wafted to him in the breeze, and she seemed to stop when he answered softly, "I'm fine, don't waste your energy on me. Worry about yourself."

"Well sorry for trying to be a decent person," Kagome huffed, whipping her hair behind her as she faced forward once more.

Kouga frowned. There were times when her fiery spirit was quite attractive, but the constant petulance could get rather annoying. Watching as her hips swayed with a bit more sass and the skirt brushed teasing against her thighs, Kouga shrugged and gently kicked behind her knees. As her legs buckled and she began to fall, he hooked her legs in his grasp and cradled her neatly in the crook of his arm.

Kagome shrieked, and his ears rang unpleasantly from the sudden loud noise. "Excuse me!" she yelled, her voice going an octave higher than he thought even possible for a human.

"You're slow," was all he answered her with. Keeping his eyes glued forward, he ignored her bristled expression that was surely staring daggers into his face.

"Yeah, well, I don't have jewel shards jammed into my legs," she said baldly. Humphing, she crossed her arms and glared out into the forest with as much dignity as she could muster nestled comfortably in his arms.

Quirking a brow, he looked at her, a little stunned that she would have the bravado to bring such a thing up. She had seen the decimation of the village that had harbored Shiro, and though the maiming had long ended before her arrival, there was no shortage of ravaged corpses strewn about the once fertile settlement ground. She knew he was a cold-blooded killer – that he killed her own kind – yet she seemed comfortable in her arms, this pure and seemingly naïve miko.

"You will help me find the jewel shards."

She returned his gaze then, a haughty look crossing her beautiful face. But as she continued to watch him, her expression became bland, and she shrugged. "I know. It's what everyone wants me for."

' _Even Naraku…'_ she thought darkly.

The evil hanyou had his sites set out for her, and she shivered at the thought of those crimson eyes watching her; it seemed even he could see the benefits of living flesh over ash and graveyard soil, and she dreaded what awaited her should she be captured alone by him. She wasn't Kikyo – not by a long shot – but that didn't seem to make a difference to the spider.

Kagome tried not to be a judgmental person; her mother raised her to be accepting and open – for all walks of life visited their little shrine – and maybe that was why she cared for yokai, hanyou and human alike so effortlessly. However, she disliked her predecessor greatly… pity was there also, but a grudge had begun to form after she had stolen the shards, tried to kill her and attempted to drag Inuyasha to Hell on a number of occasions.

She had not known Kikyo while alive and while fleshed with a kindly spirit, only dead and dark and oh so resentful. But Kagome knew she wouldn't have cared for a creature like Onigumo on his deathbed knowing what he was; she would have let him die. Yet, the fact that Kikyo did care for such a man spoke volumes about her character – whether it was good or bad, Kagome had yet to decide.

And yet here she was, comfortable in the arms of Inuyasha's enemy, a cold-blooded killer with eyes that haunted her. In her dream, they had held such love and kindness, and they had crinkled into a soft expression as he had smiled at her so fondly. Those were not the eyes of a cold-blooded killer, but rather a lover… one who had called her _Koi_.

For Kouga's part, her statement about being a jewel-shard detector sat wrong with him… for a number of reasons. It seems she was used to being kidnapped. But what's more, he wasn't even sure if the jewel was all there was to this little escapade of his.

' _I'm only doing this for my tribe_ ,' Kouga reminded himself, yet he sensed the lie to himself. ' _She is a means to an end, and afterwards I'll devour her.'_ Perhaps that would sate his desire for her.

His heart clenched painfully at the prospect, yet his stomach twisted as his hunger hit him like a blast of that mutt's overgrown fang. Transforming and fighting had taken a toll on his body, and it required sustenance.

"We're here," he said before dropping her to her feet.

She caught herself unsteadily, trying not to fall at the abrupt change in position. Once she had herself grounded, she looked up at him icily, but she discovered he was nowhere to be found. Glancing over at the spring that rested in the tiny glade, she padded over to it and took a breath, knowing she was left to her own devices. She knew she couldn't get away in the darkness of night in unfamiliar territory – Kami, should could scarcely _walk_ – so she steeled her resolve and began to strip.

Kagome ignored the feeling of being watched, knowing full well that Kouga's aura was on the outer edge of her senses. Little did she know, instead of bright blue, a crimson gaze rested on her naked form as she glided into the water.

Far off, a spider's fangs glinted in the moonlit shadows, a cruel grin curling his handsome lips as he licked them hungrily.

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


	21. Carnal Exchange

The water was cold but not unbearably so. Or so she thought, and Kami was she wrong.

"Ah!" Kagome squeaked as her cry was shocked to silence. Though her surroundings weren't at freezing temperatures, she could have sworn she saw her breath puff out in a little cloud. She shook her head, steeling her nerves and biting her lip as she waded into the spring Kouga had led her to.

She almost regretted walking into the water stark naked, for the water current against her skin was nearly biting… but at the fleeting thought of how utterly destroyed her uniform was, she figured it wouldn't have made much difference if she wore it anyways. So she had left it at the water's edge, a tattered pile of fetid cloth.

' _I really need to talk to Mama about clothes more suited to traveling,'_ Kagome thought. She grimaced at the thought of how expensive replacing her seifuku was each time it got ruined, especially considering the tight budget Higurashi shrine ran on. She had overheard her grandfather grumbling about it while dusting the old well house – long before it housed her portal between eras – and regretted not having the chance to return the cellphone they gave her before the receipt had expired. _'Stupid Shikon jewel,'_ Kagome groused.

The star-shaped scar at her side burned slightly at the memory, and Kagome's palm subconsciously pressed against it in a placating manner. She was only seventeen – freshly so – yet she had seen and done so many things no one of her era would even dream of. _'Not that fighting demons and being dragged across Japan via foot or hanyou-back is my idea of fun,'_ Kagome frowned. _'If Mama knew everything, she'd probably forbid me from ever coming back.'_

Which lead her to think about her current predicament. She was no longer with Inuyasha – her only other link to her era aside from the Bone Eater well. _'Will I even get to see Mama, and Souta, and Grandpa again?'_ Loneliness overcame Kagome and left her feeling cold, and the palm that cupped her Shikon scar moved to grasp her arm.

The frosty autumn air flowed against Kagome's face and shoulders as her body remained motionless in the water. She tried desperately to ignore the gooseflesh running up and down her arms, and she felt pinpricks dance along her flesh as iciness chilled her muscles seemingly down to her bones; Kagome felt like a human popsicle, and she vaguely wondered if this is what it felt like to wake up after falling asleep in front of an open fridge. Had she not been desperate for a bath to remove the grime and gore covering her body, she probably would have stuck her toe in and decidedly skipped bathing altogether.

' _No wonder humans of this era don't practice proper hygiene…'_ Kagome thought. ' _Although, they don't know about germs, and the stench isn't so bad in the winter…'_

When Kouga mentioned bathing, he left out the keyword "hot" when he indicated a spring was nearby. Like everything involving the wolf, she didn't really know what to expect, but she couldn't help but feel a little cheated.

"Stop that," Kagome whispered to herself, her eyebrows knitting in concern. The fact that Kouga brought her to a fresh water source was more than what Inuyasha had done for her in months. The inu-hanyou would have been groaning about weak humans and slow healing abilities, but Kouga had left her to her privacy as she tended to her wounds. Something she was reluctantly thankful for.

Her night-vision was poor, but she could feel the tautness of healing skin spanning her back in jagged ridges. With every movement, she felt the raised flesh brush against itself, puckered and angry and probably very ugly. She hadn't seen the damage, and she prayed to all the Kami that it wouldn't scar like the hideous star-shaped scar on her hip, but secretly she knew it wouldn't matter. _'What's done is done, and I don't regret it.'_

She heaved a gentle sigh, running her fingers up her arms and appreciating the silken feel of the water displacing under her touch. Kagome had hidden herself up to her collarbone under the calm surface of the spring, but she had scarcely moved to wash; it was as if somberness clung to her being and weighed her down, suffocating her until she nearly drowned. Thoughts of her family and friends flitted across her consciousness and left her feeling hollow and heavy.

Kagome closed her eyes, imagining herself falling into a void as she dipped her head back, plunging her crusted and matted hair in the water. Staring up at the moon, she wondered absently if her friends were also looking at it from wherever they were, watching the same stars facet the night-veiled heavens as wistfully as she was.

Kagome observed as tendrils of her ebony hair swirled in the water, splaying from her soaking form not entirely unlike Naraku's tentacles. The thought of the evil hanyou made Kagome shiver despite the cold, and it was not the first time she was made aware that she was alone.

The thought should have brought comfort to her, knowing that her captor – ' _and savior_ ,' she noted – was away… yet knowing Kouga had left her range of senses made her feel, inexplicably, uneasy and vulnerable.

Which she was – vulnerable… in more ways than one.

Soaking in a spring in the nude was not entirely foreign to her – rather, she welcomed every opportunity to bathe in the Sengoku Jidai when chance permitted it – but she was never this alone. Usually Sango was near, or Miroku tried peeping, or Inuyasha stayed a safe yet secure distance away. Usually, she scrubbed Shippo's ears clean since he never managed to get all the dirt from the backs of them, and he often overlooked between the pads of his paws since, as he liked to say, he "walked on them anyway."

The thought of her little kit made Kagome's chest clench. She lifted a fisted hand to her sternum as if to protect her from the pain of loss and failure, but it made no difference. She knew Shippo was safe with Inuyasha despite the constant beatings and arguments they had; however, deep down she knew Shippo only felt protected with her… and that little thought tormented her, knowing she was weak in the face of most enemies, and near useless to her friends aside from being a caretaker and occasional jewel shard detector.

' _Jewel shard detector…_ ' Surprisingly, the pain wasn't as sharp at the notion, and instead of Inuyasha's face drifting past her mind's eye, a smiling wolf prince with impossibly blue eyes surfaced. He had that satisfied smirk on his face that he had after he kissed her, yet his gaze was wistful like back in that dream…

' _It felt so much like a memory, yet… not.'_ It wasn't right, yet it _felt_ right to Kagome.

Taking a deep, rattling breath, the rosy buds atop her chest ascended the water and crested into the chilled air; they immediately hardened, bringing a tingling sensation to her breasts as she was made very aware of how the waterline circled them sensually. Bringing her palms to the top of her stomach, she suddenly felt less cold as new sensations were brought forward. Kagome felt every ripple lap at her skin and every current caress her body as she lay suspended, and a sort of heat started to pool in her lower belly as her miko senses burned pleasantly.

They kept growing stronger and stronger until she saw stars in the back of her mind, and her body was wracked with the hungry laps of wavelets. And suddenly the currents grew stronger, sweeping her to her feet as her balance was tipped.

And then she came face to face with Kouga.

She opened her mouth to scream in a mix of shock and rage until his callused hand clamped over it. She was affronted with the smell of blood – ' _fresh blood'_ – not the old, musty scent of aging gore that clung to them both like turkey seasoning. She gasped in surprise, which turned out to be a mistake as the blood coating his hand smeared past her lips and glazed her tongue: thick, metallic, and so so gross.

She felt her stomach knot in an unpleasant way, and she had to make a concerted effort not to be sick in their only source of fresh water for miles.

' _Probably not so fresh anymore, but still_ ,' Kagome noted glumly.

"If you don't want to attract every yokai and beast within hearing distance, I wouldn't if I were you," Kouga warned her. ' _Not that that delicious scent she's giving off won't already do that,'_ he thought. He thanked the Kami that she was submerged, for her scent only permeated the air directly around them, but anything with a discerning nose could sniff it out if they cared to. And oh, _Kami_ , he did.

His woman was looking at him with eyes the size of the moon, sapphire irises sparkling with the reflection of stars on the water's surface. Her raven hair was impossibly darker, framing her face in an ethereal way that hinted of nightly pleasure. And the sight of her dusky nipples in the moonlight, surrounded by milky skin glistening with dewy moisture, was enough to make him thank the Kamis yet again that she could not see what she did to him under the water.

But her _lips_ – _oh, her lips_ – were nearly enough to send him over the edge into primal desire with the way they moved against his fingers, suckling on his flesh as she gasped innocently. The blood covering his hand smeared against her mouth and cheeks, making her look like she ate a fresh kill; it made his inner beast purr with contentment as he stared into her doe-like eyes.

He felt her lips draw into a frown, and he noted the look of disgust that crossed her features as she glared down at his hand. He removed it, but not before purposely brushing it against her plush lips once more as he brought it to his side.

"Whose blood is that?"

Now Kouga frowned. ' _I didn't think she would notice the difference.'_ They had been covered in the remains of the obliterated Bird of Paradise.

When it was clear that she expected an answer, he asked, "Would you believe me if I said it was mine?"

Her eyes narrowed as they honed in on his wolfish smile, and he wasn't altogether comfortable with how transparent her felt under her watchful gaze.

"No."

He shrugged. "Well then, I guess you'll be left wondering."

Crossing her arms and hiding her chest from view as subtly as possible, he discerned a wince contort her features. "Kouga."

Her tone hinted at no playing, but the way his name sounded coming from her lips was positively sinful it was so perfect. It made him wonder why he ever bothered with all the women who fawned over him, because no creature could satiate his bestial desire like this little human miko.

' _Shit_.' He hadn't thought of that before he killed a human nearby and took the nicer of his wares – a fresh kimono and a pair of sandals, amongst other shiny bobbles he thought a human woman might like. He knew his miko had killed yokai before – she had that unmistakable confidence in battle – but he also had the dim feeling that that fact didn't extend to members of her own species.

"A man's gotta eat," Kouga half-joked. He had a bite or two of the human before Kagome's heady scent had reached his nose, but he doubted she'd ask what he had-

"You're not a man," Kagome pointed out with a raised brow. When Kouga shot her a withering stare, she amended, "You're a full-blooded _male yokai_. Plus, game is hard to come by this time of year. What did you manage to-"

Kouga sniffed, cutting her off with a preening glare to hide the anxiety clawing up his throat. "You doubt my abilities? You're right; I ain't no human or stinking half-breed, I'm a _wolf_. _We track things._ "

Kagome glared up at him, and if Kagome had a mirror, she'd have seen the no-nonsense face that her mother had given her during Kagome's frivolities of youth. Like mother, like daughter – and hell if Kagome ever got something past her Mama.

"So where is it?"

Kouga blinked dumbly, trying his best to think of something quick. Grasping nothing she'd actually buy, he said equally dumbly, "Where's what?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she wiped the blood that had begun dripping from her chin, washing it away with a swish of her arm in the water. "Your kill."

"Ah… that," Kouga said haltingly. "Well… I ate it."

Kagome stared at him blandly, debating whether or not to take the bait before a fire sparked in her sapphire orbs. Smirking, she laughed bitterly, "What? Nothing to share?"

"Lone wolves don't tend to _share_ things with anyone. Except with a mate, but that's more of an… _exchange._ A _carnal_ one _,"_ Kouga murmured, eyeing the small priestess before him. How easy it would be to pluck her from the water and feast upon her body, ravaging her flesh in every carnal way.

She blushed prettily at the innuendo Kouga nearly growled in her ear, and her body suddenly grew warm despite the cold environment. Kouga's muscled body was giving off heat in waves far stronger than the subtle laps of water wavelets. He breathed in her juniper scent laced with wolfberries and a hint of citrus, and he listened to the strong thrum of her heartbeat as her sweet blood coursed violently through her veins. His nose traced the outer shell of her ear, skimming down to the juncture at her neck, where his lips caressed her soft flesh and sent a tremor down her body. His fangs elongated slightly, his beast emerging as his desire for the little miko grew. Her innocence was impossibly attractive, riling his beast to claim her so that no other male would sample what was his – none would dare touch what was his, unless they had a death wish.

And suddenly lust, bloodlust, carnal desire and carnal need came crashing down around him, inhibiting his senses save his overwhelming instincts. His eyes bled red, his muscles went rigid, his fangs came tantalizing close to breaking flesh as he savored her pure taste, which was free of salt and grime and worldly influence thanks to the water around them.

He felt her balmy breath fan across his face, and her luscious chest heaved as she panted like a bitch in heat. Her eyes were glazed over, her lips parted, her face tilted close to his as he grabbed her chin between clawed fingered and held her to him.

"Mine," he growled in his mother tongue before devouring her lips with his. She tasted just as she had before – sweet, piquant and irresistibly delicious… except the tang of blood made the kiss all the more exquisite, like the cheek of a beast – the most tender morsel of a kill. A delicacy.

Kagome moaned as Kouga laid claim to her lips. She leaned into him, as if knowing the touch of him, yet her virginal insecurity made her hesitate. The taste of blood was strong in her mouth again, and she vaguely realized it came from Kouga's meal. Kagome, for her part, preferred meat on the well-done side, so the familiar yet distasteful flavor of blood made a chaste woman of her despite her heady desire.

Attempting to push Kouga away, the wolf refused to let her go, instead taking her refusal as a challenge and pressing further and harsher. His tongue dove into her mouth as she grunted in frustration, and his arms snaked around her hips and pulled her flush against him. It did not take all of those sex ed classes from school for Kagome to recognize the hard bulge pressed firmly against her lower stomach, nor did it take a genius to realize she was on shaky ground where her maidenhood stood.

"Kouga, please," Kagome begged, continuing to push away even knowing she could never physically overpower the wolf demon. Her wounds were searing as she struggled to get away, and the throbbing brought tears to her eyes.

Kouga stiffened. Pulling back to look at his woman, Kouga's crimson gaze registered the pain present in her doe-like eyes; the telltale sheen of tears crested her lower lashed, and her swollen lips trembled with something akin to fear.

"Mine," he growled again, still in his native tongue. However, the scent of her growing tears cleared his head, his beast wilting at the distress of their chosen mate.

' _Mate?'_

Kouga snarled, pushing away from her like she had burned him with her reiki.

"K- Kouga…" Kagome said, a slight whimper coloring her tone. He hated how his name sounded just then, especially coming from his lips in such a desperately confused way.

He turned away from her, shame and anger and a multitude of other emotions roiling under the surface of his cold demeanor. In that moment, he had put on his mask as the Dark Prince, the feared and emotionless ruler of the wolf tribes his brethren oft saw him as. He couldn't bear to see the look on Kagome's face – the undoubtedly accusatory expression his own vassals looked at him with.

"Monster" he would hear them say in hushed tones. He was known as a fearless and cruel leader, where cries were his praise rather than songs of honorable battles; yet here he was, afraid to look upon the face of a mortal miko, one barely matured past the adolescent ripeness of a womanchild. He loved and hated the passion inspired in him by this slip of a human; there was pain as well, an unknown yet familiar ache that burned him like a forgotten and festering wound.

Yet still he could not bear to look at her, so he simply gestured to the bank where he had deposited his newly acquired items and whispered, "Get dressed. We need to get moving."

And then he left her once more, this time with little assurance as Kagome trembled in the spring, again feeling the bite of the cold rather than the prick of Kouga's fangs.

* * *

 **Updated: January 9, 2019**


End file.
